-U 


The  Bible  Study  Union  Lessons 

THE  COMPLETELY  GRADED  SERIES 


itnesses  for  Christ 


MAY  2 7 J.; 


What  It  Meant  to  be  a Christian 
In  the  Early  Centuries 


CHARLES  SCRIBNER’S  SONS 

97-599  FIFTH  AVENUE  NEW  YORK 


CONTENTS 


I^esson  1.  Why  the  Christians  were  Persecuted  in  the  Roman  Empire  1 
Lesson  2.  An  Invitation  to  a Supper  .....  7 

Lesson  3.  A Time  When  it  was  Dangerous  to  go  to  a Church  . . 12 

Lesson  4.  A Robber  Captain  who  was  Converted  . . .16 

Lesson  5.  A Christian  Wife  and  a Heathen  Husband  . . . 22 

Lesson  6.  How  Even  the  Weak  were  Strong  Enough  to  Die  for  Christ  26 
Lesson  7.  Christian  Leaders  who  were  Faithful  Unto  Death  . . 31 

Lesson  8.  A Roman  Emperor  who  Became  a Christian  . . . 36 

Lesson  9.  A Great  Empire  Conquered  by  Barbarians  ...  41 

Lesson  10.  A Christian  Mother  and  Her  Great  Son  ...  46 

Lesson  11.  How  our  European  Ancestors  were  Converted  to  Christ  52 
Lesson  12.  The  Christian  Conquest  of  Europe.  Review  . . 57 


The  Bible  Study  Union  Lessons  (Completely  Graded  Series),  Junior 
Grade:  Published  by  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons,  New  York;  price  12  cents 
each. 


Copyright,  1913,  by  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons,  New  York 


r 


THE  LAST  TOKEN 
From  a painting^  by  Gabriel  Max 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


WHAT  IT  MEANT  TO  BE  A CHRISTIAN 
IN  THE  EARLY  CENTURIES 


A Course  of  Study  for  Classes  of  Boys  and  Girls 
Twelve  to  Fifteen  Years  Old 


By  HAROLD  B.  HUNTING 


Charles  F.  Kent,  Ph.D. 
George  A.  Coe,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 


Consulting  Editors 


New  York 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER’S  SONS 


INTRODUCTION 


TO  THE  PUPIL 

In  the  last  thirty-six  lessons  of  the  Junior  Bible,  we  have 
followed  the  story  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus  down  to  about  the 
year  100  a.d.  The  later  writings  of  the  New  Testament  intro- 
duced us  to  the  beginning  of  one  of  the  most  thrilling  chapters 
in  the  world’s  history,  the  life  and  death  struggle  between  the 
religion  of  Jesus  and  the  heathenism  of  the  Roman  empire.  If 
we  had  stopped  there  in  our  study  we  would  not  have  known 
the  trials  which  men  and  women  had  to  endure  to  be  Christians 
in  those  early  days.  In  the  following  pages,  therefore,  we  shall 
take  up  the  story  where  the  New  Testament  lets  it  drop.  We 
shall  try  to  gain  a vivid  mental  picture  of  the  life  of  the  Chris- 
tians in  the  second,  third  and  fourth  centuries  And  we  shall 
find  that  this  great  period,  from  beginning  to  end,  is  a story 
of  marvelous  Christian  loyalty  and  heroism. 

Most  of  our  information  regarding  this  history  comes  from 
the  Christian  writers  of  those  days,  who  are  generally  referred 
to  as  “ the  Fathers.”  They  wrote  explaining  Christianity  and 
its  teachings  and  beliefs  for  the  purpose  of  defending  it  against 
the  false  statements  of  heathen  enemies.  These  books  defend- 
ing Christianity  are  usually  referred  to  as  apologies.”  The 
Greek  word  apologia,”  however,  did  not  mean  an  apology” 
in  our  sense  of  the  word  but  rather  a defense.” 

On  page  62  you  will  find  a list  of  the  early  Christian  writers 
referred  to  in  these  lessons. 


/ ^ l)eOi  / 


J2.70 

Witnesses  for  Christ 


LESSON  I. 

WHY  CHRISTIANS  WERE  PERSECUTED  IN  THE 
ROMAN  EMPIRE. 

§1.  Wicked  Customs  Among  the  Romans. 

The  ancient  world,  in  the  time  of  the  Roman  Empire,  was  in 
many  ways  extremely  corrupt,  heartless,  and  cruel.  There 
were  many  persons  indeed,  who  tried  to  live  righteous  lives; 
but  even  the  best  of  them  thought  nothing  of  many  customs 
which  would  be  considered  shocking  and  wicked,  nowadays. 
It  is  hard  to  believe,  for  example,  that  civilized  men  and  women 
could  take  delight  in  watching  the  death  agonies  of  their  fellow- 
men.  Yet  the  great  Coliseum  at  Rome,  and  the  amphitheatres 
in  all  the  leading  cities,  were  continually  thronged  with  spec- 
tators. Here,  protected  from  the  sun  with  awnings,  and 
decked  out  in  splendid  robes  and  glittering  jewels,  the  fashion- 
able men  and  women  of  each  city  looked  down  from  their 
perfumed  cushioned  seats,  into  the  arena,  where  condemned 
criminals  were  torn  by  leopards,  or  tigers  or  lions,  or  wild  boars; 
or  where  perchance  trained  gladiators  fell  upon  one  another  in 
mortal  combat.  These  cruel  and  terrible  exhibitions  were 
what  the  people  of  those  days  called  amusements. 

§2.  The  Unpopularity  of  the  Christians. 

Into  the  midst  of  these  evil  practices  came  the  Christians, 
with  their  purer  and  better  way  of  living.  They  refused  to  go 
to  these  amusements’^  at  the  amphitheatres.  They  refused 
to  share  in  the  degrading  vices  which  were  commonly  practised. 
As  a result  they  were  unpopular.  This  unpopularity  was 
greatly  increased  among  those  who  found  that  they  were  losing 
money  because  of  the  new  religion.  Idol  makers,  for  example, 
and  priests  in  heathen  temples  hated  the  Christians,  because 
each  new  convert  to  Christianity  meant  so  much  less  revenue 
for  them.  There  were  many  persons  moreover,  who  were 

1 

82205 1 


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Witnesses  for  Christ 


influenced  against  Christianity  through  misunderstandings 
and  falsehoods.  The  Christians  were  called  atheists,  because 
they  would  not  worship  idols.  They  were  even  accused  of  all 
kinds  of  horrible  deeds.  It  was  reported  that  little  children 
were  killed  and  eaten  at  their  meetings.  Although  these 
statements  were  absolutely  false  they  were  believed  by  many 
intelligent  men. 

§ 3.  The  Christians  and  the  Roman  Government. 

The  Roman  government  permitted  its  subjects  for  the  most 
part  to  worship  whatever  gods  they  pleased.  In  Rome  itself 
all  sorts  of  foreign  religions  flourished.  One  thing  only  was  in- 
sisted on:  whatever  special  deity  a man  might  choose  to  wor- 
ship, he  must  also  sacrifice  to  the  old  Roman  gods,  who  were 
supposed  to  protect  the  Roman  Empire.  Furthermore,  all 
Roman  subjects  were  required  to  offer  sacrifice,  on  certain 
occasions,  before  the  image  of  the  emperor.  These  laws  were 
readily  obeyed,  by  all  except  the  Christians;  they  alone  held 
aloof  and  refused  even  to  throw  a pinch  of  incense  on  the  altar 
in  worship  of  Csesar.  To  the  Roman  officials,  this  seemed  like 
treason  against  the  government.  Furthermore  the  Christians, 
as  we  know,  did  really  believe  that  Christ  was  soon  to  return, 
and  that  He  would  overthrow  the  Roman  Empire  and  all 
earthly  kingdoms,  and  establish  His  own  heavenly  kingdom. 
When  the  Roman  rulers  heard  about  this  belief,  it  was  natural 
for  them  to  suspect  that  the  Christians  were  actually  plotting 
against  the  government. 

§ 4.  Laws  Against  the  Christians. 

So  from  the  time  of  Nero,  Christianity  seems  to  have  been  a 
^Torbidden  religion in  the  eyes  of  the  law.  The  Emperor 
Trajan,  more  wise  and  just  than  some  rulers,  gave  orders  that 
the  Christians  were  not  to  be  sought  out,  but  that  when  accused 
and  convicted,  they  were  to  be  compelled  to  sacrifice  to  the 
gods  or  else  were  to  be  put  to  death.  Under  this  rule  (about 
110  A.D.),  a Christian  was  left  unmolested,  unless  some  enemy 
reported  him  to  the  local  governor  or  prefect.  They  had  many 
enemies,  however,  and  from  time  to  time  fierce  attacks  were 


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Junior — Lesson  One 


3 


made  upon  them.  At  no  time,  and  under  no  circumstances, 
could  they  feel  secure.  Many  of  them  were  cruelly  tortured 
and  slain.  They  were  torn  with  iron  claws,  hung  upon  crosses, 
thrown  to  wild  beasts,  covered  with  skins  of  beasts  and  torn 
by  dogs,  roasted  over  slow  fires.  No  form  of  torture  was 
neglected  which  ingenuity  could  devise. 

§ 5.  The  Failure  of  these  Laws  to  Check  the  Growth 
OF  Christianity. 

In  spite  of  these  attacks  the  number  of  the  Christians  in- 
creased  at  a remarkable  rate.  Christianity  appealed  not  merely 
to  the  educated  but  to  the  humble  and  lowly.  The  Christians 
were  noted  for  their  kindness  to  the  sick  and  to  the  poor. 
Their  Gospel  aroused  the  consciences  of  men  and  offered  them 
forgiveness  and  a Saviour  from  sin.  One  of  the  most  powerful 
influences  in  the  winning  of  new  converts  was  the  courage  and 
constancy  of  the  Christians  themselves  in  the  face  of  persecu- 
tion; and  their  willingness  to  die,  if  need  be,  for  their  faith. 
Thus  for  every  Christian  put  to  death,  many  more  converts 
would  often  be  won. 

The  impression  made  on  heathen  spectators  by  the  death  of 
the  Christians  is  well  brought  out  by  the  following  description 
from  ^^Quo  Vadis’^  of  a scene  in  the  arena  during  the  persecution 
by  Nero.*  ^^The  turn  of  the  Christians  was  at  hand.  Since 
that  was  a new  spectacle  for  people,  and  no  one  knew  how  the 
Christians  would  bear  themselves,  all  waited  with  a certain 
curiosity.  The  disposition  of  the  audience  was  attentive  but 
unfriendly.  Those  people  who  were  to  appear  had  burned 
Rome  and  its  ancient  treasures.  They  had  drunk  the  blood 
of  infants,  and  poisoned  water;  they  had  cursed  the  whole 
human  race,  and  had  committed  the  vilest  crimes.  The  harsh- 
est punishment  did  not  suffice  for  their  hatred;  and  if  any  fear 
possessed  people’s  hearts  it  was  this:  that  the  torture  of  the 
Christians  would  not  equal  the  guilt  of  these  ominous  criminals. 

^^Now  the  prefect  gave  a sign.  The  same  old  man  appeared 
*Quotedfrom  “Quo  Vadis’^  by  permission  cf  Little,  Brown,  and  Company. 
Copyright  1896,  1897,  by  Jeremiah  Curtin, 


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Witnesses  for  Christ 


who  had  called  the  gladiators  to  death,  and  passing  with  slow 
step  across  the  arena  amid  silence,  he  struck  three  times  again 
on  the  door. 

Throughout  the  amphitheatre  was  heard  the  deep  murmur — 
^The  Christians!  the  Christians!^ 

^'The  iron  gratings  creaked;  through  the  dark  openings  were 
heard  the  usual  cries  of  the  scourgers,  ^To  the  sand  ’ and  in  one 
moment  the  arena  was  filled  with  crowds  of  people  covered 
with  skins  of  beasts.  All  ran  quickly  and  reaching  the  middle 
of  the  circle,  they  knelt  one  by  another  with  raised  hands. 
The  spectators  judging  this  to  be  a prayer  for  pity,  and  enraged 
by  such  cowardice,  began  to  stamp,  whistle,  throw  empty 
wine  vessels,  bones  from  which  the  fiesh  had  been  eaten,  and 
shout,  ^The  beasts!  the  beasts!^  But  all  at  once  something 
unexpected  took  place.  From  out  the  shaggy  assembly  sing- 
ing voices  were  raised,  and  then  sounded  that  hymn,  heard  for 
the  first  time  in  a Roman  amphitheatre,  ^ Christus  regnat  ’ 
(^Christ  reigns  0*  Astonishment  seized  the  spectators.  They 
saw  faces  pale,  but  as  it  were  inspired.  All  understood  that 
those  people  were  not  asking  for  mercy,  and  that  they  seemed 
not  to  see  the  circus,  the  audience,  the  senate,  or  Csesar.  ‘ Chris- 
tus regnat’  rose  ever  louder,  and  in  the  seats  far  up  to  the 
highest,  among  the  rows  of  spectators,  more  than  one  asked 
himself  the  question,  ^What  is  happening,  and  who  is  that 
Christus  who  reigns  in  the  mouths  of  those  people  who  are  about 
to  die.’  ” 

§ 6.  Final  Attempts  to  Stamp  out  Christianity,  and 
Their  Failure. 

Before  the  time  of  Decius  (250  a.d.)  no  systematic  attempt 
was  made  by  the  government  to  search  out  the  Christians. 
During  the  reign  of  this  emperor,  however,  there  were  many 
great  public  calamities,  as  for  example,  a widespread  pestilence. 
^^The  Christians  have  brought  these  things  on  us,”  people  said, 
^^by  their  neglect  of  the  gods.”  So  Decius  issued  an  edict, 
which  was  really  a declaration  of  war  against  the  new  religion. 
Christians  were  now  hunted  down  like  murderers  all  over  the 
empire.  About  fifty  years  later  (303  a.d.),  after  a temporary 


Junior — Lesson  One 


5 


respite,  the  Emperor  Diocletian  undertook  to  carry  out  the 
same  kind  of  campaign,  with  even  greater  energy.  By  that 
time  the  Christians  had  begun  to  have  church  buildings.  These 
were  destroyed.  All  copies  of  the  New  Testament  that  could 
be  secured  were  burned.  Pastors  and  church  officers  were 
punished  with  special  cruelty.  It  was  a terrible  experience 
for  the  Christians,  but  the  majority  of  them  proved  true. 
In  fact  many  who  had  been  lukewarm  in  their  loyalty  were 
awakened  to  heroism.  New  converts  flocked  to  the  standard 
of  the  cross.  It  is  said  that  a certain  actor  had  been  hired  to 
take  part  in  a play  which  ridiculed  and  slandered  Christianity. 
He  knew  these  statements  were  false,  however,  and  when  the 
time  came  for  him  to  repeat  them  on  the  stage,  his  better 
nature  triumphed.  Instead  of  going  on  with  his  part  he  came 
to  the  front  of  the  stage  and  declared  his  belief  in  Christianity 
and  his  purpose  to  be  a Christian.  He  was  immediately  seized 
and  put  to  death.  As  time  went  on  the  Roman  authorities 
began  to  realize  that  it  was  impossible  to  destroy  a religion 
which  could  awaken  so  dauntless  a spirit  as  this.  The  per- 
secution of  Diocletian  was  the  last  of  the  great  Roman  per- 
secutions. 

Questions  and  Topics. 

1.  Do  you  think  the  pagan  Romans  were  naturally  worse 
people  than  we  are  to-day? 


2.  If  you  had  lived  in  those  days,  would  you  have  gone 
to  the  shows  held  in  the  amphitheatre?  Why? 


3.  What  things  do  we  do  now  which  Christians  living  one 
thousand  years  from  now  will  consider  wrong  and  wicked? 


4.  Why  were  the  Romans  offended  at  the  Christians  for 
not  taking  part  in  the  vices  of  those  days? 


c 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


5.  Would  you  have  believed  the  stories  about  the  Chris- 
tians? If  not,  how  would  you  have  found  out  the  truth? 


Questions  to  Sum  Up. 

1.  Mention  three  reasons  why  the  Christians  were  unpopular. 


2.  Mention  two  reasons  why  the  Roman  officials  passed  laws 
against  them. 


3.  What  was  the  ruling  of  the  Emperor  Trajan,  regarding 
the  Christians? 


4.  What  effect  did  these  laws  have? 


5.  Under  what  two  emperors  was  there  a systematic  at- 
tempt to  root  out  Christianity? 


Junior — Lesson  Two 


7 


LESSON  2. 

AN  INVITATION  TO  A SUPPER. 

§ 1.  The  Spirit  of  Brotherhood  Among  the  Early 
Christians. 

The  heathen  writer  Lucian  said  of  the  Christians  Their 
master  has  persuaded  them  that  they  are  all  brothers.  In 
this  lesson,  let  us  try  to  get  a vivid  idea  of  what  this  Chris- 
tian brotherhood  meant,  and  especially  what  it  would  mean  to 
a poor  man.  Let  us  imagine  for  example,  a poor  bricklayer, 
who  has  been  living  in  a village  in  northern  Italy.  Suppose  we 
call  him  Lycidas. 

§ 2.  A Poor  Bricklayer,  Out  of  Work,  Homeless  and 

Hungry. 

This  man,  Lycidas,  let  us  say,  belonged  to  a little  band  of 
Christians  in  his  native  village,  who  had  been  converted  by  a 
traveling  missionary.  One  summer  the  crops  were  very  poor. 
People  had  no  money  to  build  houses,  and  Lycidas  could  find 
no  work.  So  he  decided  to  come  to  Rome.  The  missionary, 
on  one  of  his  visits,  gave  him  a letter  to  a member  of  the  church 
in  Rome  who  would  help  him  to  find  work.  When  he  reached 


the  great  city,  however,  and  went  to  the  house  to  which  he  had 
been  directed  by  the  missionary,  he  found  that  the  man  had 
moved.  With  a sinking  heart;  he  set  out  alonC;  to  look  for  a 


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Witnesses  for  Christ 


job.  First  he  found  a cheap  lodging,  a small,  dirty  room,  in  a 
three-story  tenement  house.  Then  he  began  to  walk  the  streets 
inquiring  for  opportunities  to  work  at  his  trade.  Days  passed, 
however,  and  he  could  find  no  work  of  any  kind.  It  is  not 
pleasant  to  find  oneself  alone  in  a great  city,  with  no  friends  and 
with  little  money.  Lycidas  grew  pale  and  haggard.  Finally 
his  money  was  all  spent,  and  his  landlord  put  him  out  of  his 
room  on  the  street,  a helpless,  homeless  beggar.  Winter  was 
coming  on,  and  there  are  some  cold  winter  days  even  in  sunny 
Italy. 

§ 3.  A Secbet  Countersign.  A Joyful  Discovery. 

Lycidas  though  sad  and  discouraged  did  not  give  up  his 
weary  search  for  work.  That  afternoon,  as  he  passed  by  a cer- 
tain house,  he  noticed  above  the  door  a small  drawing  of  a fish. 
His  heart  was  filled  with  joy  and  hope.  For  among  the  early 
Christians  a picture  of  a fish  was  used  as  a secret  countersign. 
The  letters  in  the  Greek  word  for  fish  formed  the  initials  of  the 
words  meaning  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour.^’ 
Was  this  perhaps  a house  where  Christians  lived?  Lycidas 
decided  to  knock,  and  a kind-faced  woman  opened  the  door. 
^‘1  noticed  the  carving  over  your  door,’^  said  Lycidas,  too 
am  one  of  the  brothers.’^  The  woman  hesitated;  for  there  were 
spies  who  made  it  their  business  to  search  out  Christians  and 
betray  them.  came  from  northern  Italy,^^  continued  Ly- 
cidas. have  a letter  from  the  missionary  Linus  to  a Chris- 
tian here  named  Clement.  But  when  I went  to  his  house,  I 
found  he  had  moved.  At  this  the  woman  clapped  her  hands 
with  joy.  Clement  has  told  us  about  you,^^  she  said,  stretch- 
ing out  her  hand  to  welcome  the  stranger.  “He  himself  re- 
ceived a letter  from  Linus  about  you,  and  he  asked  us  all  to  be 
on  the  lookout  for  you.  We  are  so  sorry  that  you  have  been 
alone  in  the  city  all  these  weeks.  IsnT  it  fortunate  that 
you  noticed  the  sign  of  the  fish  over  our  door.” 

§ 4.  A Church  Supper;  the  Love  Feast  of  the  Early 
Christians. 

So  Lycidas  at  last  found  himself  among  friends.  What  did 
it  mean  to  him?  Perhaps  we  can  best  find  out  by  going  with 


Junior — Lesson  Two 


9 


him  to  the  weekly  church  supper  to  which  the  kind-faced  woman 
invited  him.  Let  us  suppose  that  it  is  held  that  very  evening. 
Lycidas  does  not  hesitate  to  accept  the  invitation,  for  in  spite 
of  the  bread  and  milk  which  the  good  woman  has  already  given 
him,  he  is  still  ravenously  hungry.  Suppose  then,  that  we  go 
with  him,  as  the  hour  approaches.  We  open  the  door  and  an 
eager  welcome  awaits  us.  ^^Here  are  our  new  members, 
some  one  cries,  and  we  receive  a cordial  hand  clasp  from  every 
one  in  the  house.  A fire  is  burning  in  an  open  fire-pan  called  a 
brazier,  and  the  room  is  warm.  A table  is  spread  in  the  large 
central  hall,  and  we  take  our  places  around  it.  Here  are  rolls 
and  honey,  roast  mutton,  beans,  cheese,  dates  and  figs.  Each 
family  has  brought  what  it  could,  and  all  has  been  put  together 
in  a common  stock.  How  good  that  mutton  tastes  to  Lycidas, 
who  really  has  not  had  enough  to  eat  since  he  came  to  Rome. 
Here  are,  perhaps,  two  dozen  people,  men,  women  and  children. 
Here  are  laborers,  like  Lycidas.  Here  are  slaves.  Over  there 
is  a Jewish  merchant.  Yonder  is  a teacher  of  rhetoric.  ^Hn 
Christ,  there  is  neither  Jew  nor  Gentile,  neither  bond  nor  free.^’ 
There  are  some,  perhaps,  whose  manners  are  rude.  They  are 
new  converts  and  have  not  yet  learned  the  ways  of  the  Chris- 
tians. It  is  a merry  company.  Jests  are  passed  back  and 
forth.  One  member  has  brought  a lyre  and  plays  and  sings. 
Among  those  present  is  Clement,  for  whom  Lycidas  rece  ved 
the  letter  from  the  missionary.  He  is  a foreman  in  charge  of 
the  construction  of  a new  aqueduct  near  Rome.  He  promises 
Lycidas  work  and  tells  him  to  bring  his  trowel  and  commence 
laying  bricks  the  very  next  day. 

§ 5.  The  Lord’s  Supper. 

At  the  close  of  the  supper,  the  president  of  the  church  rises 
in  his  place  and  stands  by  the  table.  Before  him  is  a plate  of 
bread  and  a cup  of  wine.  A silence  falls  upon  the  company. 
Even  the  voices  of  the  children  are  hushed. 

^^Fellow-believers,”  he  says,  ^Hhis  bread  and  this  wine  sym- 
bolize the  presence  with  us  of  our  Lord  Jesus.  Our  pleasant 
fellowship  with  each  other  should  make  us  the  more  conscious 
of  Him.  For  wherever  Christians  sit  down  to  eat  together  in 


10 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


the  spirit  of  mutual  love,  their  table  is  the  Lord’s  table,  and  their 
unseen  Lord  is  present  with  them.”  After  a brief  but  earnest 
prayer,  the  bread  is  passed  around,  and  then  the  wine,  each 
one  taking  a small  portion.  Then  they  all  rise  from  the  table, 
and  sing  a hymn,  and  are  dismissed.  Lycidas  goes  no  doubt 
with  Clement. 

§ 6.  What  Brotherhood  Meant  to  the  Christians  of 
Those  Days. 

Thus  we  see  that  Christian  brotherhood  meant  food  to  the 
hungry.  It  meant  the  chance  to  work  and  earn  one’s  own 
bread.  It  meant  the  pleasure  which  comes  from  being  with 
other  people,  and  realizing  their  love.  It  meant  danger  and 
sometimes  death.  Finally,  however,  and  best  of  all,  it  meant 
fellowship  with  God.  For  it  is  chiefly  through  the  brotherly 
love  of  men,  that  we  come  to  realize  the  fatherly  love  of  God. 

Questions  and  Topics. 

1.  Even  though  Lycidas  could  not  furnish  any  of  the  food 
for  the  supper,  in  what  way  could  he  show  a brotherly  spirit 
on  that  occasion? 


2.  If  Lycidas  had  died,  some  years  later,  leaving  a wife  and 
little  children  with  little  or  no  money,  how  would  the  Christians 
have  shown  their  brotherhood? 


3.  Suppose  some  member  of  the  church  had  been  lazy, 
and  had  made  no  attempt  to  find  work.  Do  you  think  the 
Christians  would  have  supported  him  in  idleness? 


4.  Compare  this  story  of  Lycidas  with  Jesus’  story  of  the 
Good  Samaritan.  Which  illustrates  the  more  nobly  the  spirit 
of  brotherhood?  Explain. 


Junior — Lesson  Two 


11 


5.  How  may  we  show  the  brotherly  spirit  to-day? 


To  Sum  Up. 

1.  How  did  Lycidas  discover  the  house  where  a Christian 
family  lived? 


2.  Why  did  the  Christians  use  the  picture  or  carving  of  a fish 
as  an  emblem  of  their  religion? 


3.  How  did  the  Christians  provide  the  food  for  their  church 
suppers? 


4.  What  religious  ceremony  was  observed  on  these  occa- 
sions? 


5.  What  benefits  did  Christian  brotherhood  bring  to  the 
members  of  the  early  Christian  churches? 


12  Witnesses  for  Christ 

LESSON  3. 

AN  AGE  WHEN  IT  WAS  DANGEROUS  TO  GO  TO 
CHURCH. 

§1.  Going  to  Church  Nineteen  Centuries  Ago. 

Going  to  church  is  not  generally  considered  an  exciting  expe- 
rience in  these  days.  There  was  a time,  however,  in  the  history 
of  Christianity,  when  being  present  at  church  worship  was  an 
adventure  which  might  end  in  death.  Suppose  we  attend,  in 
imagination,  one  of  the  Sunday  services  of  the  early  Christians 
at  Rome.  Here  is  a Christian  mother  gently  awakening  her 
twelve-year-old  son,  long  before  daylight,  on  Sunday  morning. 
Her  husband  is  not  a Christian  and  her  boy  is  going  to  the  serv- 
ice with  her.  There  were  many  such  mothers  with  their 
sons  at  the  meetings  of  the  Christians.  Swiftly  and  silently 
they  dress  and  steal  out  into  the  dark,  narrow  street.  Some  of 
the  larger  avenues  in  the  city  are  lighted,  and  carts  have  been 
moving  to  and  fro  all  night.  These  two,  however,  make  their 
way  through  the  side  streets,  lest  they  should  be  recognized. 
It  is  necessary  for  them  to  be  very  cautious  for  some  suspicious 
official  might  trace  them  to  the  house  where  the  meeting  is  to 
be  held,  and  then  not  only  they  but  all  the  other  Christians 
present  might  be  arrested.  ^^Hark!  is  that  some  one  following 
us?’^  The  mother  seizes  her  boy^s  arm  and  draws  him  back 
into  the  dark  shadows  of  an  overhanging  doorway.  The  steps 
draw  nearer;  the  man  does  not  stop,  however,  as  he  passes 
them.  Whoever  he  is,  he  goes  on  down  the  street. 

§ 2.  Where  the  Christians  Held  Their  Meetings. 

Soon  they  reach  the  house  where  the  meeting  is  to  be  held. 
It  is  not  a regular  church  building,  like  ours,  but  a private 
house  where  one  of  the  Christians  lives.  Perhaps  it  is  the  house 
where  we  saw  the  supper  in  our  last  lesson.  At  the  door  the 
mother  knocks  three  times.  It  is  opened,  but  only  a few  inches. 

Peace  be  with  you,^^  says  the  mother.  Peace  be  with  whom?’’ 
says  a voice  within.  ^‘The  faithful,”  answers  the  mother. 
Then  they  are  admitted.  ‘^Have  they  all  come?”  says  the 
mother,  as  she  looks  around  the  circle.  Where  is  Glaucus? 


Junior — Lesson  Three 


13 


Oh,  here  he  is!  Where  is  Miriam?^’  ^^She  is  sick,’^  some  one 
answers.  All  the  members,  then,  are  accounted  for.  The  first 
part  of  the  adventure  is  over.  All  who  are  coming  to  the  meet- 
ing have  safely  reached  the  house.  The  service  may  now  begin. 
We  will  be  interested  in  watching  it. 

§ 3.  An  Ancient  Christian  Gathering. 

We  see  that  there  are  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty  people  gath- 
ered in  a semi-circle  around  a table  on  which  are  a lamp  and 
several  rolls  of  papyrus.  The  room  is  crowded.  Some  are 
sitting  on  the  floor.  Others  are  standing  in  the  rear.  The 
shadows  from  the  flickering  lamp  flit  weirdly  across  their  faces. 
Some  of  those  present  are  not  yet  Christians,  but  are  sincerely 
interested  in  the  new  religion  and  have  been  brought  to  the  meet- 
ing by  their  friends.  One  of  the  older  men  steps  to  the  table 
and  reads  a passage  from  one  of  the  rolls,  which  is  a copy  of 
the  Book  of  Isaiah.  He  reads  the  passage  about  the  Servant 
of  Jehovah,  who  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men.  Then 
he  takes  another  roll,  and  reads  a selection  from  the  Gospels, 
or  from  one  of  the  Epistles  of  Paul.  Then  another  man  rises 
and  preaches  a short  sermon.  Even  in  the  dim  light,  we  can 
see  his  eyes  flash,  as  he  warns  his  hearers  to  beware  of  the  evils 
which  are  practised  by  their  heathen  neighbors,  and  tells  them 
of  a power  from  on  high  which  can  guide  and  strengthen  them. 
In  the  course  of  his  sermon,  he  may  very  likely  have  spoken 
words  like  the  following  which  are  quoted  from  the  Epistle  to 
Diognetus,  Chapter  10,  written  about  150  a.d. 

§ 4.  Extract  from  an  Ancient  Christian  Sermon. 

^‘Do  not  be  surprised  that  a man  may  become  an  imitator 
of  God.  He  can,  if  he  is  willing.  For  it  is  not  by  ruling  over 
his  neighbors,  or  by  seeking  to  hold  the  supremacy  over  those 
who  are  weaker,  or  by  being  rich  and  showing  violence  toward 
those  who  are  inferior,  that  happiness  is  found;  nor  can  any  one 
by  these  things  become  an  imitator  of  God.  But  these  things 
do  not  at  all  constitute  God’s  majesty.  On  the  contrary,  he 
who  takes  upon  himself  the  burden  of  his  neighbor,  he  who,  in 
whatever  respect  he  may  be  superior,  is  ready  to  benefit  another 


14 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


who  is  deficient;  he  who  distributes  to  the  needy  whatever 
things  he  has  received  from  God,  and  thus  becomes  a god  to 
those  who  receive, — he  is  an  imitator  of  God/^ 

After  the  sermon  several  persons  pray.  Perhaps  the  bread 
and  wine  are  again  passed  around,  “in  memory  of  the  Lord.^’ 
A collection  is  taken  up  to  buy  food  and  medicine  for  sick 
Miriam.  Then  they  rise  and  sing  a hymn, — one  of  the  “Psalms 
of  David.^^ 

§ 5.  An  Interrupted  Hymn. 

But,  hark,  what  is  that  noise  at  the  door?  The  worshipers 
do  not  hear  it  at  first,  because  of  the  sound  of  their  voices  in  the 


Interior  of  the  Mamertine  Prison. 


Plan  op  the  Mamertine  Prison. 


The  Mamertine  prison  was  below  ground,  and  its  lowest  dungeon  could  be  entered  only 
through  a hole  in  the  floor  of  the  upper  chamber  (X  in  cut)  through  which  prisoners  were 
let  down.  The  tradition  is  that  both  Paul  and  Peter  were  confined  there,  and  that  the 
spring  of  water  now  there  (XX  in  cut)  was  miraculously  produced  by  Peter  so  that  he 
might  baptize  converts  made  in  the  prison.  The  event  is  commemorated  in  the  bas-relief 
over  the  altar.  This  dungeon  is  19  feet  long  by  10  feet  wide  and  6 1-2  high.  Here  pris- 
oners were  left  to  perish.  Sometimes  they  were  chained  to  the  stone  post  with  iron  bars 
about  it  to  the  left  of  the  altai . This  horrible  dungeon  is  now  entered  by  stairs  from  the 
outside. 


hymn.  Suddenly  there  is  a crash,  as  the  door  is  forced  open 
and  the  soldiers  from  the  prefect  rush  in.  That  was  a spy, 
then,  who  followed  the  mother  and  her  son.  He  was  shadow- 
ing them  just  as  she  feared,  and  when  they  went  into  the  house, 
he  sent  in  haste  for  the  soldiers.  Heavy  hands  are  laid  upon 
trembling,  unresisting  forms.  The  whole  company,  men,  women. 


DIANA  OR  CHRIST 
From  a painting  by  Edwin  Long 


i 


A 


'P, 


i 

i 

i 

1 

A 

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3 

7 

. 1 

1 


Junior — Lesson  Three 


15 


and  children,  are  hurried  off  to  prison.  The  interrupted  music 
of  the  psalm  is  continued  and  finished  in  the  darkness  of  a 
dungeon. 

Some  days  later,  as  the  little  band  was  led  out  into  the  arena 
to  be  put  to  death  in  cruel  ways,  certain  of  the  heathen  soldiers 
noticed  the  look  of  peace  and  happiness  upon  all  their  faces. 
They  were  hot  like  ordinary  criminals,  going  with  cringing 
steps  to  the  place  of  execution.  They  walked  like  princes  and 
princesses  on  the  way  to  a coronation.  The  heathen  onlookers 
could  but  wonder  at  it.  They  did  not  know  that  in  the  hearts 
of  these  Christians  still  was  ringing  the  music  of  that  inter- 
rupted hymn;  ^^Yea,  though  I walk  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  I will  fear  no  evil,  for  Thou  art  with  me.^^ 

Questions  and  Topics. 

1.  Why  did  the  Christians  hold  their  meetings  before  day- 
light? 


2.  Compare  the  meeting  described  in  the  lesson  with  some 
meeting  which  you  have  attended  in  one  of  our  modern  churches. 
Mention  the  similarities  and  the  differences. 


3.  Why  were  the  Christians  willing  to  risk  their  lives, 
rather  than  be  absent  from  any  of  these  meetings? 


4.  What  part  of  the  meeting  would  you  have  liked  best? 


5.  How  may  a person  get  as  much  help  as  possible  from  a 
church  service? 


16 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


To  Sum  Up. 

1.  In  what  buildings  did  the  early  Christians  hold  their 
services  for  worship? 


2.  On  what  day  of  the  week  did  they  meet? 


3.  At  what  time  of  the  day? 


4.  What  took  place  at  these  meetings? 


5.  Why  was  it  dangerous  to  go  to  them? 


LESSON  4. 

HOW  A ROBBER  CAPTAIN  WAS  CONVERTED. 

§1.  The  Good  News  of  God's  Forgiveness. 

When  Jesus  was  preaching  in  Galilee  and  Judea,  one  of  the 
most  important  parts  of  His  work  was  to  proclaim  to  sinners 
the  Heavenly  Father's  eagerness  to  forgive.  Jesus  also  re- 
quested His  followers  to  preach  this  same  Gospel,  or  Good  News, 
and  thus  win  sinners  to  repentance.  Were  the  later  Christians 
true  to  this  purpose  of  Jesus?  We  may  answer  the  question 
in  part  by  the  following  incident  which  is  told  by  Clement  of 
Alexandria. 


Junior — Lesson  Four 


17 


§ 2.  A Christian  Teacher  and  His  Boy  Friend. 

In  the  city  of  Smyrna  there  lived  a promising  young  lad: 
handsome,  athletic,  quick  witted.  Suppose  we  call  him  Lucre- 
tius. One  day  he  went  with  friends  to  a meeting  of  the  Chris- 
tians. Among  the  Christian  teachers,  there  was  a man  named 
John.  Clement  says  that  it  was  John  the  Apostle  but  it  was 
probably  some  other  John.  At  any  rate,  whoever  he  was,  the 
boy  and  the  man  became  good  friends,  and  the  boy  never  for- 
got the  older  man's  warm,  hearty  handclasp  and  kindly  eyes. 
Through  John's  influence  he  became  a Christian;  and  after 
being  instructed  in  the  Christian  life  was  baptized  and  received 
into  the  church. 

§ 3.  A Lad  Who  Fell  in  with  Bad  Companions. 

Shortly  after  this,  unfortunately,  John  was  compelled  to 
leave  Smyrna  for  several  years.  Before  he  went  away  he  asked 
the  pastor  of  the  church  to  watch  over  Lucretius  with  special 
care.  ^^For  my  sake,"  he  said,  ^^be  a good  friend  to  him.  Give 
him  help  and  counsel  and  encouragement."  This  pastor,  how- 
ever, was  not  so  earnest  a Christian  as  John,  and  he  forgot 
about  Lucretius;  and  as  time  went  on  the  boy  fell  in  with  idle 
companions  of  his  own  age,  and  began  to  yield  to  their  influence. 
First  they  took  him  to  heathen  entertainments,  and  gradually 
led  him  deeper  and  deeper  into  wrongdoing.  Finally,  one 
night  while  he  was  with  them,  they  killed  and  robbed  a wealthy 
traveler,  on  a lonely  road.  Thus  he  felt  that  his  hands  were 
stained  with  blood,  and  as  Clement  says,  “he  now  entirely 
despaired  of  salvation,  and  from  the  greatness  of  his  nature, 
having  gone  aside  from  the  right  path,  he  took  the  bit  between 
his  teeth,  like  a hard-mouthed  and  powerful  horse,  and  rushed 
with  all  the  more  force  into  the  depths."  He  organized  his 
companions  into  a regular  band  of  robbers.  He  himself  be- 
came their  captain,  and  was  known  as  the  fiercest,  cruelest, 
and  bloodiest  of  them  all. 

§ 4.  Going  to  Seek  the  Wanderers. 

Years  passed,  and  John  came  back  to  Smyrna.  He  was  an 
old  man  now.  He  had  not  forgotten  about  Lucretius,  however, 


18 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


but  very  soon  after  his  arrival  inquired  of  the  pastor  regarding 
him.  The  pastor  could  not  but  hang  his  head  in  grief  and 
shame.  ^^He  is  dead/^  said  he,  ^^not  dead  in  body,  but  dead  to 
God.  For  he  turned  to  wickedness,  and  became  a robber,  and 
even  now  he  and  his  robber  band  have  taken  possession  of 
that  mountain  yonder  in  front  of  the  city.  No  one  dares  to  go 
along  the  road  by  that  mountain  any  more.’^  Of  course  John 
was  shocked  and  indignant.  If  he  himself  could  only  have 
stayed  in  Smyrna,  he  knew  that  the  boy  would  not  have  gone 
astray.  ^^It  was  a fine  guard  I left,^’  he  said,  “over  a brother's 
soul.  But  bring  a horse,  and  find  some  one  to  guide  me  to  that 
mountain.’’  “No,  no,”  cried  the  pastor,  “you  must  not  go  there. 
You  are  an  old  man,  and  those  bandits  are  desperate.”  But 
John  insisted;  so  the  pastor  finally  brought  a horse  and  the  old 
man  climbed  into  the  saddle.  Let  us  hope  that  the  pastor  was 
brave  enough  to  go  along  himself,  to  act  as  guide. 

§ 5.  Visiting  a Camp  of  Bandits. 

About  halfway  up  the  mountain,  one  of  the  robbers,  who 
was  stationed  there  as  an  outpost,  came  rushing,  sword  in  hand, 
and  seized  the  bridle  of  John’s  horse.  “Take  me  to  your  cap- 
tain,” said  John.  So  in  a little  while  they  reached  the  rough 
board  shanty  at  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  where  Lucretius 
was  carousing  with  his  men.  His  handsome  face  was  hard  and 
cruel,  and  he  wore  a dagger  in  his  belt.  “Ah  ha,”  he  shouted, 
as  John  was  brought  into  the  dirty,  disorderly  room,  “another 
prisoner  for  ransom.”  But  just  then  he  looked  into  the  pris- 
oner’s face,  and  in  spite  of  the  gray  hairs,  and  other  changes, 
recognized  his  friend;  and  he  stood  with  downcast  eyes.  “You 
fellows  get  out  of  here,”  he  said;  “I  want  to  talk  to  this  man 
alone”;  and  they  knew  very  well  that  it  would  be  dangerous 
to  disobey.  “My  dear  son,”'Said  John,  “I  have  come  to  bring 
you  back  to  your  Heavenly  Father’s  love.”  But  Lucretius 
would  not  even  allow  him  to  touch  his  hand.  “I  am  not  wor- 
thy that  you  should  touch  me,”  he  said.  The  brave  old  man 
would  not  be  rebuffed,  however,  and  kept  on  pleading  with  him 
with  tender  and  thrilling  words.  “Believe  me,  my  boy,  Christ 
has  sent  me  for  you.  For  you  I would  gladly  lay  down  my  life, 

1 


Junior — Lesson  Four 


19 


even  as  the  Lord  endured  death  for  us  all.  It  is  not  too  late  for 
you  to  begin  again  to  live  the  Christian  life.  Come.’^  And 
strange  and  wonderful  as  it  may  seem,  Lucretius  yielded  to 
John^s  pleadings,  and  with  many  of  his  followers  turned  once 
and  for  all  from  his  former  evil  life  and  became  again  a true 
and  loyal  Christian. 

§ 6.  A Christian  Slave  Girl  Who  Converted  Her 
Mistress. 

This  incident  was  but  a single  example  of  the  constant  efforts 
of  the  Christians  to  bring  to  sinners  the  good  news  of  God’s 
forgiving  love.  Pray  without  ceasing,”  wrote  Ignatius,  ^^on 
behalf  of  other  men,  that  they  may  repent  and  find  God.  See 
that  they  be  taught  by  your  deeds,  if  in  no  other  way.  While 
we  take  care  not  to  imitate  their  conduct,  let  us  show  ourselves 
their  brothers  in  all  true  kindness.”  This  was  the  spirit  of 
the  Christians.  Wherever  a Christian  went,  his  life  was  an 
influence  for  good  among  his  heathen  neighbors.  Here  for 
example  is  a Christian  slave  girl.  “How  is  it,  girl,”  says  her 
mistress  one  day,  “that  you  never  steal  from  me,  as  other 
slaves  do?”  “I  used  to  do  those  things,”  she  answers.  ^^But 
now  I have  an  unseen  Master,  who  is  holy  and  good.  It  would 
grieve  Him,  if  I should  steal.”  “What  talk  is  this,  girl?” 
says  the  mistress.  “Who  is  this  unseen  Master  of  yours?” 
Then  the  maid  tells  her  of  this  new  religion  of  Jesus;  how 
this  wonderful  person  Jesus  lived  in  the  land  of  the  Jews; 
how  He  had  held  up  before  His  followers  the  ideal  of  being  hon- 
est, pure,  and  unselfish,  as  children  of  the  holy  and  loving  God; 
and  finally,  how  He  died  on  the  cross  to  save  men  from  their 
sins.  The  mistress  is  impressed  by  her  maid-servant’s  words; 
for  her  own  life  has  been  selfish.  Her  conscience  gives  her  no 
rest.  “You  should  come  to  our  meeting  to  night,  mistress,” 
the  girl  finally  adds.  “You  should  listen  to  our  teacher;  he 
can  explain  these  things  far  better  than  I.”  So  perchance  it 
comes  to  pass  that  the  mistress  goes  to  the  meeting  of  the  Chris- 
tians with  her  maid-servant  and  is  converted. 


20 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


§ 7.  The  Testimony  of  a Heathen  Writer. 

The  heathen  writer  Celsus  supposed  that  he  was  reproaching 
the  Christians  when  he  said  of  them:  “ Every  one  who  is  a sinner, 
every  one  who  is  devoid  of  understanding,  and  every  one  who 
is  in  any  way  unfortunate,  him  will  the  Christians  receive  into 
the  kingdom  of  God.’^  ^^What  others,’^  says  Celsus,  would  a 
man  invite  if  he  were  sending  out  a proclamation  for  an  as- 
sembly of  robbers?^ ^ It  was  the  same  reproach  that  the  Phari- 
sees had  brought  against  Jesus,  namely,  ^^He  is  a friend  of 
sinners.’^  In  short,  the  Christians,  for  the  most  part,  were 
true  to  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  their  Master,  and,  like  Him, 
tried  to  ^^seek  and  to  save  the  lost.’’ 

Questions  and  Topics. 

1.  He  felt  that  his  hands  were  stained  with  blood — and  now 
entirely  despaired  of  salvation.”  Mention  one  thing  that  you 
would  have  said  to  Lucretius  at  this  time,  if  you  could  have 
talked  with  him? 


2.  Why  was  John  able  to  win  him  back  to  the  Christian  life? 


3.  Notice  the  argument  of  Celsus  against  the  Christians 
(p.  7).  How  would  Celsus  have  treated  Lucretius  if  he  had 
had  the  opportunity? 


4.  How  would  you  answer  the  argument  of  Celsus? 


5.  What  light  does  this  lesson  throw  on  the  question  of  bad 
companions?  Should  we  avoid  them,  or  should  we  make 
friends  with  them  and  try  to  wield  a good  influence  over  them? 


Junior — Lesson  Four 


21 


Notice  first,  how  Lucretius  was  led  into  wrong-doing,  and 
second,  how  a heathen  mistress  was  led  to  become  a Christian. 


To  Sum  Up. 

1.  What  was  one  of  the  chief  aims  of  Jesus? 


2.  What  Christian  writer  tells  the  story  of  the  conversion 
of  the  robber  captain? 


3.  About  what  period  in  history  did  Clement  live?  (See 
appendix.) 


4.  Who  was  partly  to  blame  that  the  young  man  (Lucretius) 
fell  into  evil  ways? 


5.  What  kind  of  a young  man  was  he,  naturally? 


6.  How  did  it  come  about  that  be  was  finally  won  back  to 
Christ? 


7.  What  was  one  of  the  chief  means  whereby  new  converts 
were  won  to  Christ,  in  the  early  days? 


22  Witnesses  for  Christ 

8.  What  did  the  heathen  writer  Celsus  say  against  the 
Christians? 


9.  Who  made  a similar  charge  against  Jesus? 


LESSON  5. 

A CHRISTIAN  WIFE  AND  A HEATHEN  HUSBAND. 
§ 1.  Customs  in  Which  the  Christians  Could  not  Join. 

Any  one  who  tries  to  live  a Christian  life  among  non-Christian 
companions  must  come  into  almost  daily  conflict  with  their 
customs.  This  was  especially  true  of  the  Christians  in  the 
Roman  empire.  The  spirit  of  heathenism  was  everywhere. 
If  a Christian  went  out  on  the  street,  he  saw  images  of  the  gods 
standing  there,  and  met  processions  in  which  these  images  were 
solemnly  carried  about.  All  who  passed  by  paid  their  homage; 
the  Christian  could  not  do  this.  If  he  entered  a courtroom 
there  stood  an  altar  with  incense  and  wine.  Custom  required 
one  in  passing  to  strew  incense  and  offer  a libation,  that  is, 
pour  out  the  wine  as  an  offering.  If  he  stepped  into  a tavern 
or  store,  or  shop,  to  make  a purchase,  or  leave  an  order,  he  al- 
ways found  an  altar  and  idols,  which  he  was  expected  to  worship. 
Or  perhaps  he  was  invited  by  heathen  friends  or  relatives  to  a 
family  party.  If  he  did  not  go,  he  gave  offence;  if  he  went,  he 
still  could  not  but  displease  them  by  refusing  to  take  part  in 
the  sacrifices  and  libations.  If  a Christian  wished  to  borrow 
money,  he  was  expected  to  take  an  oath  in  the  name  of  the 
heathen  god.  A Christian  schoolmaster  was  expected  to  cele- 
brate certain  holidays  in  honor  of  the  gods.  Many  a person 
found  that  he  had  to  give  up  his  former  occupation  entirely, 
in  order  to  become  a Christian;  for  example,  laborers  in  heathen 
temples,  idol-makers,  sellers  of  incense,  Many  others  must 


Junior — Lesson  Five 


23 


have  lost  much  money,  simply  because  of  the  general  dislike 
felt  for  them.  Christian  merchants  must  have  lost  many 
heathen  customers.  A Christian  working  man  would  find  it 
hard  to  get  a job.  Tertullian  gives  us  a vivid  picture  of  the 
unpopularity  which  Christians  had  to  face.  good  man,^ 

says  one,  Ms  Gains  Seius,  only  that  he  is  a Christian.^  So 
another,  ^ I am  astonished  that  a wise  man  like  Lucius  should 
have  suddenly  become  a Christian.’  ” 

§ 2.  A Wife  who  Became  a Christian  Against  Her 
Husband’s  Wish. 

The  Christian  had  a particularly  hard  problem  to  face  if  the 
other  members  of  his  own  family  were  not  Christians.  In  such 
a case,  the  words  of  Jesus  were  literally  fulfilled;  came  to 
set  a man  at  variance  against  his  father,  and  the  daughter 
against  her  mother — and  a man’s  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own 
household.” 

In  the  writings  of  Justin  Martyr  there  is  a story  of  a certain 
married  couple  who  lived  in  the  city  of  Rome,  about  150  a.d. 
The  wife  was  a Christian  and  the  husband  a heathen.  For  con- 
venience sake,  let  us  name  them  Lucia,  and  Julian.  At  the 
time  of  their  marriage,  neither  of  them  was  a Christian.  They 
had  money,  and  their  lives  were  selfish  and  intemperate.  Later 
on,  Lucia  became  acquainted  with  a Christian  teacher  named 
Ptolemaus,  and  through  his  influence  was  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity. When,  however,  she  tried  to  win  her  husband  to  her 
new  Master,  he  only  ridiculed  and  abused  her. 

§ 3.  A Hard  Fight  Against  Heathen  Influences. 

Henceforth  her  experiences  became  harder  and  harder  to 
bear.  From  other  Christian  writers  we  know  what  she  must 
have  suffered.  Every  day,  she  was  compelled  to  clash  with  her 
husband  in  regard  to  some  matter  of  personal  conduct  or  of 
household  arrangements.  He  wished  her  to  go  with  him  as 
usual  to  the  theatres.  But  there  were  no  plays  in  those  days, 
fit  for  a Christian  to  see.  He  wished  her  to  go  with  him  to 
heathen  banquets,  but  these  banquets  were  intemperate  and  li- 
centious, and  of  course  she  could  not  attend  them.  She,  on  her 


24 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


part,  wished  to  go  to  the  meetings  of  the  Christians,  especially 
the  Sunday  services;  in  fact,  she  tried  to  observe  Sunday  as  the 
Lord’s  Day,  a day  of  worship,  and  to  some  extent,  a day  of 
rest.  Her  husband,  however,  would  do  his  best  to  keep  her 
from  the  meetings.  When  she  went  out  to  visit  the  sick  and 
the  poor  among  her  fellow  Christians,  he  reviled  her  for  enter- 
ing the  houses  of  “low-down  freedmen  and  laborers.”  There 
was  a family  shrine  in  the  dining  room  and  at  each  meal,  the 
husband  would  offer  a portion  of  the  food  to  the  household  god, 
but  how  could  a Christian  eat  food  which  had  been  consecrated 
to  an  idol  before  her  very  eyes?  Yet  how  could  she  avoid  it, 
if  she  were  not  to  starve?  In  their  pathetic  distress,  many  of 
the  Christians  found  a way  out  of  this  difficulty  by  bringing 
home  tiny  portions  of  the  bread  from  the  Lord’s  Supper.  They 
hoped  that  by  eating  this  sacred  bread,  the  rest  of  the  food  on 
the  table  would  be  cleansed  from  the  pollution  of  idolatry. 
The  heathen  husband,  however,  would  sooner  or  later  notice 
his  wife  secretly  eating  her  tiny  crumb  of  special  bread,  and 
would  suspect  her  of  practising  magic  in  order  to  invoke  a 
curse  on  the  family  meal. 

§ 4.  What  It  Cost  to  be  True  to  Christ. 

Thus  this  man  Julian  grew  more  angry  and  abusive  day  by 
day,  while  Lucia  grew  more  and  more  discouraged.  She  began 
to  fear  that  with  such  a husband  she  could  not  continue  much 
longer  to  live  the  Christian  life.  It  occurred  to  her  that  she 
might  leave  him,  but  her  friends  urged  her  not  to  do  this. 
“Perhaps  even  yet  you  can  win  him  to  Christ”  they  said.  In 
the  midst  of  her  perplexity,  however,  the  man  went  away  for 
some  weeks,  on  a business  trip  to  Alexandria.  During  his 
absence,  Lucia  gathered  up  a few  belongings  and  went  away 
to  the  home  of  a Christian  friend  in  another  part  of  the  city. 
When  Julian  returned  and  found  that  his  wife  had  left  him  he 
was  furious.  He  went  immediately  to  a prefect,  named  Ur- 
bicus,  and  laid  charges  against  her  as  being  a Christian,  and  also 
against  her  teacher  Ptolemaus.  Lucia,  apparently,  had  in- 
fluence with  the  emperor,  perhaps  through  aristocratic  relatives, 
and  the  charges  against  her  were  not  pressed,  at  least  not  at 


Junior — Lesson  Five 


25 


that  time.  But  Ptolemaus,  and  two  others  who  were  asso- 
ciated with  him,  were  condemned  and  put  to  death  as  Christians. 
Thus  we  see  that  to  a Christian  of  those  early  days,  the  heathen 
life  around  him  was  like  some  monstrous  octopus,  whose  num- 
erous tentacles  or  arms  reached  out  to  draw  him  back  again  to 
the  old  heathen  sins.  Very  often  the  only  escape  was  death. 
These  people,  however,  were  true  followers  of  Him  who  said, 
‘Hf  thy  right  eye  cause  thee  to  stumble,  pluck  it  out,^^  and  ^Tf 
any  man  would  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself  and  take 
up  his  cross. 

Questions  and  Topics. 

1.  ^^At  each  meal,  the  husband  would  offer  a portion  of  the 
food  to  the  household  god.^^  In  view  of  the  fact  that  an  ^Tdol 
is  nothing,^’  was  there  any  good  reason  why  the  Christian  wife 
could  not  join  in  the  meal? 


2.  In  what  other  matters  besides  idolatry  did  the  Christians 
come  into  conflict  with  heathen  customs? 


3.  What  sacrifices  and  dangers  did  Lucia  encounter  in  leav- 
ing her  husband? 


4.  Was  it  right  for  her  to  leave  him? 


5.  Mention  some  modern  custom  in  which  a Christian 
should  not  join. 

To  Sum  Up. 

1.  Mention  six  occasions  in  the  course  of  the  day  when  an 
early  Christian  would  have  had  to  make  himself  conspicuous 
by  his  peculiar  conduct. 


26  Witnesses  for  Christ 

2.  Tell  the  story  of  the  woman  whom  we  have  called  Lucia. 

(а)  What  sort  of  a life  had  she  and  her  husband  lived  before 
she  became  a Christian? 

(б)  How  did  her  husband  treat  her  after  she  became  a 
Christian? 

(c)  Why  did  she  not  leave  him  at  once? 

id)  What  was  the  result,  when  she  finally  did  leave  him? 


LESSON  6. 

HOW  EVEN  THE  WEAK  WERE  STRONG  ENOUGH  TO 
DIE  FOR  CHRIST. 

§ 1.  Perpetua  of  Carthage,  a Brave  and  Beautiful 
Christian  Woman. 

One  of  the  most  thrilling  stories  of  early  Christian  heroism  is 
that  of  the  persecution  which  broke  out  in  the  year  202  a.d., 
in  the  city  of  Carthage.  Among  those  who  were  arrested  and 
thrown  into  the  dungeon  was  a beautiful  young  woman  named 
Vivia  Perpetua.  She  was  of  aristocratic  family  and  well  edu- 
cated. Her  brother  was  also  a Christian,  and  possibly  other 
members  of  her  family.  Her  father,  however,  was  still  a 
heathen  in  religion.  At  the  time  of  her  arrest  she  was  twenty- 
two  years  of  age.  She  was  married  and  had  a little  baby  boy. 
It  is  possible  that  her  husband  was  a Christian  and  that  he 
shared  her  fate. 

§ 2.  Thrown  into  a Dark  Dungeon  for  the  Sake 
OF  Christ. 

In  the  account  of  this  persecution  (written  by  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church  at  Carthage),  there  are  several  extracts 
from  the  diary  which  Perpetua  herself  kept  after  her  arrest. 
She  tells  a pathetic  story  of  her  experiences;  how  frightened 
she  was  when  the  rough  soldiers  seized  her;  how  she  shuddered 


Junior — Lesson  Six 


27 


when  they  thrust  her  down  into  the  dark  dungeon;  and,  worst 
of  all,  how  she  was  torn  with  anxiety  for  her  little  baby,  who  had 
not  yet  been  weaned,  and  who  was  now  deprived  of  his  mother. 
Two  fellow  Christians  helped  her,  however,  in  her  trouble. 
The  ''blessed  deacons,  Tertius  and  Pomponius,''  who  had  not 
yet  been  arrested,  gave  a fee  to  the  jailor  and  the  Christians 
in  the  dungeon  were  all  brought  up  into  " a pleasanter  part  of 
the  prison.’’  Here  her  mother  came  with  the  baby,  and  per- 
mission was  granted  that  it  might  stay,  for  a time  at  least, 
with  its  mother  in  the  prison. 

§ 3.  The  Tears  of  an  Aged  Father. 

Before  the  day  of  the  trial,  Perpetua’s  aged  father  came  to 
see  her  many  times  and  kept  begging  her  to  give  up  this  new 
religion.  The  poor  white-haired  old  man  was  almost  crazed 
with  grief  and  anxiety.  Perpetua  had  been  his  darling.  He 
thought  of  the  times  when,  as  a little  girl,  he  had  held  her  in  his 
arms,  and  how  she  had  grown  to  beautiful  maidenhood  and 
womanhood,  and  then  he  thought  of  the  leopards  and  the  other 
fierce  beasts  in  the  arena,  among  which  she  was  to  be  thrown, 
and  it  nearly  drove  him  mad.  With  haggard  face  and  blood- 
shot eyes  he  knelt  at  her  feet  in  the  prison,  and  covered  her 
hands  with  kisses.  "Pity  me,  daughter,”  he  begged,  "pity 
your  mother.  Think  of  your  little  son,  who  is  not  yet  weaned 
and  will  die  if  you  are  taken  from  him.”  Perpetua  was  "grieved 
over  the  gray  hairs  of  her  father,”  and  tried  to  comfort  him. 
But  one  thing  she  could  not  do,  even  for  her  father;  she  could 
not  swerve  from  her  loyalty  to  Christ. 

§ 4.  The  Trial  Before  the  Procurator. 

A few  days  later,  with  the  other  Christian  prisoners,  she  was 
taken  to  the  town  hall,  to  be  tried  before  the  procurator,  Hil- 
arianus.  This  officer  was  seated  on  a platform.  Close  by 
there  was  an  image  of  the  emperor,  and  beside  it  was  an  altar 
on  which  a fire  was  burning.  On  a stand  was  a box  of  incense 
powder.  At  the  foot  of  the  steps  leading  to  the  platform  was 
Perpetua’s  father  with  his  little  grandson  in  his  arms;  and  as 
his  daughter  mounted  the  steps,  he  begged  her  once  more  to 


28 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


pity  the  little  child,  and  sacrifice  to  the  emperor.  But  she 
could  only  shake  her  head.  When  her  turn  came  to  be  exam- 
ined, the  procurator  said  to  her,  ^^Just  take  a pinch  of 
this  incense  here,  and  throw  it  into  the  flames  in  honor  of 
Caesar  and  I will  set  you  free.  What  harm  can  there  be  in  throw- 
ing a pinch  of  powder  into  the  fire?’^  But  Perpetua  answered, 
^^No,  I cannot.’’  In  anger,  the  procurator  gave  orders  that 
her  father  should  be  seized  and  beaten  with  rods  before  her  eyes, 
as  though  to  punish  him  for  having  so  obstinate  and  wicked  a 


Showing  the  raised  platform  on  which  the  judge  sat,  with  lictors  carrying  the  fasces, 
the  emblem  of  authority,  on  either  side.  These  basilicas,  which  were  the  largest  Roman 
halls  of  meeting,  are  said  to  have  been  copied  by  the  early  Christians  for  their  churches, 
many  of  which  are  still  called  basilicas. 

daughter.  So  Perpetua  must  needs  look  on  in  helpless  agony, 
while  her  own  father  writhed  beneath  the  lash,  knowing  all  the 
time  she  had  only  to  throw  a little  of  that  incense  on  the  altar, 
in  worship  of  Csesar,  and  his  sufferings  would  cease.  But 
though  her  heart  might  break,  she  could  not  deny  Christ. 
She  remembered  His  words,  Every  one  therefore  who  shall 
confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I confess  before  my  Father  who 
is  in  Heaven.” 

§ 5.  Butchered  to  Make  a Roman  Holiday. 

So  at  last,  sentence  was  pronounced.  Perpetua  and  her  com- 
panions were  to  be  thrown  to  the  wild  beasts  in  the  amphi- 
theatre, on  the  birthday  of  the  emperor’s  son,  Geta  Csesar. 
Meanwhile  they  were  taken  back  to  the  dungeon;  nor  was 
Perpetua’s  baby  brought  to  her  again.  When  the  day  came  for 


From  National  Geographic  Magazine,  Washington,  D.  C.  Copyright,  1911 


THE  ROMAN  ARENA,  CARTHAGE 
Cross  shows  where  Christian  martyrs  were  thrown  to  wild  beasts,  202  A.  D 


Junior — Lesson  Six 


29 


the  execution,  the  prisoners  were  sent  out  one  by  one,  or  in 
small  groups.  Among  the  first  was  a young  man  named 
Saturus,  a friend  of  Perpetua.  A leopard  was  loosed  upon  him 
and  blood  streamed  over  his  body^  wounded  by  the  savage 
teeth  and  claws.  As  he  lay  fainting  on  the  sand,  somebody 
in  the  crowd  shouted,  washed  and  saved,’’  referring  to  the 
belief  of  the  Christians  that  their  sins  were  washed  away 
through  the  blood  of  Christ.  The  great  assemblage  of  specta- 
tors caught  up  the  mocking  cry,  and  shouted  in  derision, 

Washed  and  saved^  washed  and  saved.”  Perpetua  and  a 
young  slave  girl  named  Felicitas  were  exposed  to  the  attack  of  a 
fierce  cow.  They  were  tossed  and  trampled  and  badly  hurt, 
but  were  not  killed.  So  at  last,  with  a little  group  of  others 
who  were  still  alive,  they  were  brought  out  to  be  killed  with  a 
sword.  When  the  young  gladiator  came  to  Perpetua,  he 
hesitated.  He  was  hardened  to  deeds  of  blood,  but  at  the  sight 
of  her  youth  and  beauty  and  innocence,  his  hand  trembled. 
So  Perpetua  herself  guided  his  wavering  sword  to  her  throat. 

§6.  “The  Blood  of  the  Christians  is  the  Seed  of 
THE  Church.” 

The  Christian  writer  Tertullian  was  living  in  Carthage  at 
this  very  time.  He  may  have  been  thinking  of  Perpetua, 
when  he  wrote  the  last  paragraph  of  his  famous  defence  of 
Christianity:  “Go  zealously  on,  good  rulers.  You  will  stand 
higher  with  the  people,  if  you  shed  the  blood  of  Christians; 
crucify  us,  rack  us,  crush  us,  stamp  us  under  foot.  The  more 
ingenious  your  cruelty,  the  more  numerous  we  are.  The  more 
you  mow  us  down,  the  faster  we  grow.  The  blood  of  Christians 
is  the  seed  of  the  church.” 

Questions  and  Topics. 

1.  What  do  you  think  was  the  hardest  part  of  the  experience 
for  Perpetua  to  endure? 


2.  What  do  you  think  was  the  effect  of  her  heroic  death  on 
her  fellow-Christians? 


30  Witnesses  for  Christ 

3.  What  was  probably  its  effect  on  the  non-Christians  in 
Carthage? 


4.  How  may  we  to-day  confess  Christ  before  men? 


5.  In  what  ways  does  it  help  the  cause  of  Christ,  to  declare 
oneself  His  disciple? 


To  Sum  Up. 

1.  In  what  city  did  Perpetua  live? 

2.  In  what  year  was  she  put  to  death? 


3.  How  old  was  she  at  the  time? 


4.  What  members  of  her  family  were  Christians? 


5.  When  she  was  brought  before  the  Roman  procurator, 
how  might  she  have  gained  her  freedom? 


6.  What  efforts  were  made  to  influence  her  to  renounce 
Christ? 


7.  Where  and  how  was  she  put  to  death? 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MARTYRS 
From  a painting  by  Frances  Leon  Benouville 


Junior — Lesson  Seven 


31 


LESSON  7. 

CHRISTIAN  LEADERS  WHO  WERE  FAITHFUL  UNTO 

DEATH. 

§ 1.  The  Special  ^Perils  Faced  by  Christian  Leaders. 

If  it  was  dangerous  to  be  a Christian  in  the  Roman  empire, 
how  much  more  dangerous  it  must  have  been  to  be  a Christian 
leader.  In  any  time  of  persecution,  the  leaders,  the  prominent 
men,  would  be  among  the  first  victims.  To  realize  how  danger- 
ous their  position  was,  glance  at  the  list  of  the  Christian  writers, 
on  page  62.  Notice  how  few  of  them  escaped  martyrdom. 
In  this  lesson  we  shall  learn  something  regarding  the  lives  of  two 
of  these  leaders,  namely.  Polycarp  and  Justin. 

§ 2.  The  Early  Life  of  Polycarp. 

Polycarp  was  a bishop  in  the  church  at  Smyrna.  Tradition 
says  that  when  he  was  a boy,  he  was  offered  for  sale  in  a slave 
market  in  Smyrna,  and  was  purchased  by  a Christian  woman, 
named  Callisto,  and  brought  up  as  her  own  son.  At  any  rate, 
as  he  grew  older,  he  won  the  love  and  respect  of  his  fellow 
Christians  in  that  city  because  of  his  enthusiasm  and  wisdom 
and  became  their  leader. 

§ 3.  The  Christians  in  Smyrna  Persecuted. 

He  was  an  old  man  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  against  the 
Christians  which  cost  his  life.  (This  probably  occurred  in  the 
year  155  a.d.)  At  first  he  yielded  to  the  entreaties  of  his  friends 
and  took  refuge  in  a farmhouse  a few  miles  from  Smyrna. 
The  authorities  arrested  as  many  of  the  other  Christians  as  they 
could  find,  and  put  to  death  eleven  of  them  in  the  city  arena,  in 
the  presence  of  a. great  crowd,  after  first  torturing  them  in  order 
to  compel  them  to  deny  Christ.  With  only  one  exception,  they 
all  remained  faithful  to  the  last.  Then  the  mob  became  exasper- 
ated: ^‘Away  with  the  atheists,’’  they  shouted.  Let  Poly- 
carp be  sought  out.”  They  knew  that  Poly  carp  was  the  leader. 
So  the  soldiers  found  out  where  he  was  staying.  As  they  were 
approaching  the  farmhouse  he  was  warned,  and  took  refuge 
in  another  house  near  by,  so  the  soldiers  seized  a poor  slave  boy 


32 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


and  tortured  him,  until  he  confessed  where  the  old  man  was 
hiding.  Polycarp  would  flee  no  further,  and  as  evening  drew 
on,  the  soldiers  found  him  and  brought  him  back  to  the  city. 
The  next  day,  some  of  the  leading  officials  of  Smyrna  came  and 
begged  him  to  yield.  ^^What  harm  is  there,’^  they  said  to  him, 
^Tn  sacriflcing  to  Lord  Caesar.’^  But  he  only  replied,  shall 
not  do  as  you  advise  me.^^ 

§ 4.  The  Death  of  Polycarp. 

In  the  arena,  also,  the  proconsul  tried  to  persuade  him  to  deny 
Christ.  We  do  not  wish  to  slay  an  old  man  like  you,’^  he  said. 

Swear  by  the  fortune  of  Caesar,  and  say,  ^^Away  with  the 
Atheists.’  ” In  reply.  Poly  carp  turned  and  pointed  to  the  mob, 
and  said,  ^^Away  with  the  Atheists.”  Then  the  proconsul  said 
once  more,  ^^Only  swear,  and  reproach  Christ,  and  I will  set 
you  free.”  Polycarp  answered,  Eighty-six  years  have  I served 
Him,  and  He  has  done  me  no  wrong.  How  then  can  I blas- 
pheme my  King  and  my  Saviour?”  When  at  last  they  saw  that 
neither  threats  nor  arguments  would  move  him,  they  gathered 
a great  pile  of  wood,  and  bound  him  to  a stake  in  the  center  of 
it.  The  fire  was  kindled  and  blazed  up,  fanned  by  the  wind. 
Owing  to  the  direction  of  the  wind,  the  flame  arched  itself  above 
him,  and  did  not  immediately  envelop  him  with  the  full  fury 
of  the  heat.  One  of  the  soldiers,  perhaps  in  pity,  ended  his 
sufferings  with  a sword  thrust.  Then  the  body  was  burned. 
Some  of  the  bones  were  gathered  up  by  the  Christians  as  sacred 
relics,  and  the  annual  anniversary  of  his  martyrdom  was  ob- 
served for  many  years  by  the  Christians  in  Asia  Minor. 

§ 5.  A Man  who  Defended  His  Fellow  Christians. 

In  the  early  church  there  were  not  many  persons  who  were 
sufficiently  well  educated  to  write  books.  So  except  through  ^ 
private  conversations,  the  Christiains  could  not  defend  them- 
selves against  the  false  and  wicked  slanders  which  were  cir- 
culated about  them.  They  greatly  needed  the  help  of  men  of 
special  ability  and  learning,  and,  we  may  add,  of  special  cour- 
age also.  For  if  it  was  not  safe  to  be  even  a humble  unknown 
Christian,  much  less  a bishop  like  Polycarp,  how  much  courage 


Junior — Lesson  Seven 


33 


it  must  have  required  to  publish  books  defending  Christianity. 
One  of  the  first  of  these  brave  men  who  wrote  apologies/’ 
that  is  defences  of  Christianity,  was  Justin,  commonly  known, 
from  the  manner  of  his  death,  as  Justin  Martyr. 

§ 6.  The  Conversion  and  Writings  of  Justin. 

He  was  born  in  the  province  of  Samaria.  In  his  youth^  he 
went  to  Ephesus  and  studied  with  Greek  teachers,  in  that  city. 
During  these  student  days,  he  formed  the  habit  of  going  for 
walks  in  the  country,  along  the  seashore.  Here  one  day  he  met 
a certain  venerable  man,  who  told  him  about  the  teachings  of 
Jesus.  Justin  was  deeply  impressed.  It  seemed  to  him  that 
Jesus  was  the  Great  Teacher,  greater  than  Plato,  or  any  of  the 
other  philosophers  whom  he  had  studied.  So  he  became  a 
Christian.  In  the  course  of  his  life  he  wrote  many  books  ex- 
plaining Christianity  and  defending  it  against  false  statements. 
For  example,  in  reply  to  the  charge  that  the  Christians  were 
atheists,  he  answered,  of  course,  that  they  indeed  refused  to 
worship  the  false  gods  of  the  heathen,  but  that  they  did  worship 
the  true  God,  and  were  seeking  to  persuade  all  other  men  to 
worship  Him.  In  reply  to  the  dreadful  slander  that  the  Chris- 
tians slew  little  babies  and  devoured  them  at  their  feasts, 
Justin  retorted  that  it  was  rather  the  heathen  Greeks  and  Rom- 
ans who  should  be  charged  with  such  crimes  as  these.  For  it 
was  a common  practice  among  them  to  abandon  new  born 
children  in  the  streets,  either  to  perish,  or  to  be  picked  up  and 
raised  as  slaves.  The  Christians,  however,  taught  that  this 
practice  was  cruel  and  wicked.  On  the  other  hand,  Justin  told 
of  the  pure  and  holy  teachings  of  Jesus,  which  the  Christians 
tried  to  obey.  He  also  pointed  out  that  many  of  the  Greek 
philosophers  had  taught  doctrines  very  similar  to  the  doctrines 
of  the  Christians.  For  example,  they  had  ridiculed  idolatry, 
saying  that  men  ought  not  to  worship  the  works  of  their  hands, 
“for  the  workman  is  greater  than  his  work.”  Justin  explained 
in  a very  wise  and  beautiful  way  these  similarities  between  the 
Christian  teachings  and  those  of  the  great  writers  of  the  Greeks. 
He  said  that  the  spirit  of  Christ  had  been  in  the  hearts  of  men 
in  every  race,  long  before  Jesus  lived. 


34 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


§ 7.  The  Death  of  Justin. 

In  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  Justin  went  to  Rome.  He  was  in 
that  city,  when  the  Christian  teacher  Ptolemaus  was  put  to 
death,  at  the  instigation  of  the  heathen  husband  whose  wife 
(“Luciano  had  become  a Christian.  (See  Lesson  5.)  Justin 
published  a book  protesting  fearlessly  against  this  injustice, 
and  addressed  it  to  the  emperor.  “I  too,''  he  writes  in  this 
book,  ^'expect  to  be  plotted  against  and  fixed  to  the  stake  by 
some  of  those  whom  I have  mentioned."  Very  likely  he  was 
thinking  of  the  heathen  husband  and  his  friends.  At  any  rate 
he  was  brought  before  a prefect  named  Rusticus,  with  six  other 
Christians  whose  teacher  he  had  been,  ^^in  his  room  above  a 
certain  Martinus."  As  none  of  them  would  renounce  Christ; 
they  were  scourged,  and  then  led  away  and  beheaded  (165  a.d.). 

Thus  we  see  that  the  front  rank  of  the  Lord's  army  in  those 
days  was  no  place  for  cowards.  These  men  were  not  cowards. 
In  death,  as  in  life,  they  were  true  leaders  inspiring  their  fol- 
lowers to  be  loyal  to  the  Master,  ^^even  unto  death." 

Questions  and  Topics. 

1.  What  facts  in  the  story  of  Polycarp  show  that  he  was  a 
man  of  considerable  influence  among  the  heathen,  as  well  as 
the  Christians,  in  Smyrna? 


2.  What  sentence  shows  the  ruling  motive  in  the  life  of 
Polycarp? 


3.  How  was  Justin  well  fitted  by  his  early  education  to  ex- 
plain and  defend  Christianity? 


4.  Which  of  Justin’s  arguments  probably  had  the  greatest 
influence  on  heathen  readers? 


Junior — Lesson  Seven 


35 


5.  Why  did  not  Polycarp  flee  entirely  from  Smyrna,  and 
Justin  from  Rome,  during  periods  of  specially  severe  persecu- 
tion? 


To  Sum  Up. 

1.  In  what  city  did  Polycarp  live? 


2.  Where  did  he  hide  when  persecution  broke  out  against  the 
Christians? 


3.  What  led  the  people  to  shout,  ^^Let  Polycarp  be  sought 
ouU’? 


4.  What  efforts  were  made  to  persuade  him  to  renounce 
Christ? 


5.  What  was  his  answer  to  the  proconsul? 


6.  How  was  he  put  to  death? 


7.  Where  was  Justin  born,  and  how  and  where  was  he  edu- 
cated, in  his  youth? 


8.  What  arguments  did  he  use  in  his  books  to  defend 
Christianity? 


36 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


9.  What  did  he  say  to  the  Roman  emperor  regarding  the  per- 
secution of  the  Christian  woman  Lucia/’  and  her  teacher, 
Ptolemaus? 


10.  How  was  Justin  put  to  death? 


LESSON  8. 

A ROMAN  EMPEROR  WHO  BECAME  A CHRISTIAN. 

§ 1.  The  Last  of  the  Persecutions. 

The  last  and  most  terrible  persecution  which  the  Christians 
suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Roman  government  was  that  under 
the  Emperor  Diocletian,  beginning  about  300  a.d.,  and  lasting 
about  ten  years.  (See  Lesson  1.)  Even  while  this  persecution 
was  going  on,  a young  prince  named  Constantine  was  being 
secretly  trained  as  a Christian  by  his  Christian  mother,  Helena. 
Some  two  years  after  the  persecution  ceased  Constantine  was 
encamped  with  an  army  not  far  from  the  city  of  Rome.  Across 
a river  lay  another  army,  with  a rival  prince,  named  Maxentius. 
The  winner  of  the  battle,  which  was  to  be  fought  the  next  day, 
would  be  the  ruler  of  the  Roman  empire. 

§ 2.  Roman  Legions  Fighting  Under  a New  Standard. 

As  Constantine  slept  in  his  tent  that  night  he  dreamed  that 
he  saw  in  the  sky  a shining  cross,  and  above  it,  this  motto: 

hoc  signo  vinces”  (^^Through  this  sign,  conquer.”)  The 
next  morning  he  caused  a banner  to  be  prepared,  called  the 
Labarum,  bearing  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  a monogram  stand- 
ing for  the  word  Christ.  With  this  banner  he  led  his  army  to 
the  battle  and,  winning  the  victory  of  Milvian  Bridge,  became 
the  Roman  Emperor.  Shortly  afterward  he  issued  an  edict 
permitting  all  persons  to  choose  whatever  religion  they  might 


THE  ARCH  OF  CONSTANTINE,  ROME 


Junior — Lesson  Eight 


37 


prefer.  Later,  he  even  published  a general  exhortation,  urg- 
ing all  his  subjects  to  become  Christians.  Thus  the  crucified 
Carpenter  of  Nazareth  had  conquered,  outwardly  at  least, 
the  great  empire  which  had  so  mercilessly  persecuted  His 
followers. 

§ 3.  The  Genuine  Triumphs  of  the  Man  of  Galilee. 

Was  this  a real  triumph  over  the  hearts  of  men,  or  was  it  in 
part  a mere  matter  of  outward  profession?  In  answer  it  should 
be  said  that  Constantine  himself  was  probably  a sincere  Chris- 
tian. He  may  indeed  have  been  influenced  somewhat  by  the 
desire  to  get  political  advantages.  Moreover,  in  personal 
character,  he  had  many  faults.  But  he  certainly  made  many 
laws  which  really  embodied  the  Christian  spirit.  Crucifixion 
as  a punishment  was  abolished.  Criminals  were  no  longer 
branded  on  the  forehead;  the  reason  given  for  this  law  was  that 
God  had  created  the  human  countenance  in  His  own  image, 
and  it  was  sinful  to  disfigure  it.  The  abandonment  of  new- 
born babies  was  prohibited.  Courts  and  government  offices 
were  closed  on  Sunday.  The  bloody  gladiatorial  combats, 
against  which  all  the  Christian  leaders  had  protested,  were 
indeed  kept  up,  but  Constantine  decreed  that  criminals  should 
no  longer  be  put  to  death  in  this  way.  After  about  seventy- 
five  years  the  Christian  spirit  triumphed  over  all  kinds  of 
gladiatori^  combats.  This  came  about  as  follows:  A combat, 
between  hired  gladiators  was  being  exhibited  as  usual,  in  the 
Coliseum  at  Rome,  when  an  aged  Christian  named  Telemachus 
leaped  into  the  arena  and  separated  the  gladiators.  The  blood- 
thirsty mob  of  spectators,  angry  that  their  sport  had  been  inter- 
rupted, rushed  upon  the  old  man  and  literally  tore  him  to  pieces. 
The  brutal  deed  seemed  to  awaken  the  conscience  of  the  people, 
and  these  combats  were  abolished.  Thus  we  see  that  Christian- 
ity had  indeed  become  a mighty  force  for  good  in  the  lives  of 
men.  The  world  had  actually  been  lifted  somewhat  nearer 
the  Christian  standard. 

§ 4.  The  Temptations  of  Prosperity. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  conversion  of  Constantine  brought 
the  Christians  a new  temptation.  They  had  endured  persecu- 


38 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


tion  with  heroic  faithfulness;  could  they  stand  the  test  of  pros- 
perity? The  temptation  was  all  the  more  severe,  because 
Constantine  gave  much  money  and  land  to  the  church,  and  his 
example  was  followed  by  his  successors,  who  hoped  in  this  way 
to  buy  the  moral  support  of  the  Christian  bishops.  It  was 
natural,  under  such  conditions,  that  many  persons  should  pro- 
fess themselves  Christians,  just  because  it  was  easy  and  popular. 
Great  numbers  thronged  into  the  church  for  wholly  selfish 
reasons,  and  lived  thoroughly  evil  lives.  Moreover,  even  the 
best  of  the  Christians  failed  in  many  ways  to  understand  the 
real  spirit  of  Christianity. 

§ 5.  The  Mistake  of  the  Monks. 

One  of  the  worst  mistakes  was  the  idea  that  Christians 
should  if  possible  get  away  from  the  evils  of  the  world  and  live 
in  monasteries.  Jesus,  we  are  sure,  would  have  told  them  to 
go  back  into  the  midst  of  the  world  with  all  its  evils,  and  try  to 
cure  them.  In  the  century  following  Constantine,  however, 
hundreds  of  monasteries  and  convents  were  built,  and  great 
numbers  of  the  noblest  Christians  in  the  churches  renounced 
the  comforts  and  joys  of  home  life  and  became  monks  or  nuns. 
They  spent  their  lives  in  hardship  and  self-denial.  They  slept 
on  stone  beds;  tortured  themselves  with  hair  shirts;  and  lacerated 
their  backs  with  scourges;  some  lived  in  lonely  cayes  on  the 
sides  of  steep  cliffs;  all  in  the  mistaken  belief  that  by  such 
means  the  soul  could  be  purified.  We  cannot  but  admire  their 
courage,  but  after  all,  their  religion  was  partly  selfish.  In- 
stead of  seeking  first  of  all  the  kingdom  of  God,  in  order  that 
God’s  will  might  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven,  each  one 
of  them  was  seeking  to  gain  for  his  own  soul  the  joys  of  a future 
life.  Intent  on  this  narrow  purpose,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
they  were  careless  of  the  needs  of  the  world  outside  of  their 
monasteries. 

§ 6.  Men  who  Rebuked  Worldliness. 

There  were  indeed  certain  men  who  protested  against  the 
tendency  towards  worldliness  in  the  church  and  against  the  evils 
which  they  saw  around  them.  Such  a man  was  John  Chry- 


Junior — Lesson  Eight 


39 


sostom,  the  great  preacher  of  Constantinople,  of  whom  some  day 
you  will  read.  Such  a man  was  the  Christian  writer  Salvian. 
^'Some  one  may  urge,”  says  Salvian,  “that  the  times  are  quite 
changed,  and  that  it  is  not  expected  now  that  we  should  undergo 
for  Christ's  sake  what  the  apostles  suffered.  That  is  very  true. 
For  the  governors  are  not  now  pagans,  nor  persecuting  tyrants; 
the  blood  of  the  saints  is  not  now  poured  out,  nor  is  our  faith 
tried  by  torture.  Therefore,”  he  adds,  “ since  princes  are  now 
become  Christians,  and  there  is  no  such  thing  as  persecution, 
and  religion  is  not  disturbed,  we  who  are  not  compelled  to 
bear  more  severe  trials,  ought  at  least  to  please  God  by  all 
manner  of  lesser  duties.  And  he  who  readily  discharges  these 
lesser  duties  would  probably  perform  the  greater  also,  if  he 
should  be  called  upon.”  It  was  chiefly  through  such  men  as 
these  that  the  true  Christian  spirit  was  kept  alive  in  the  midst 
of  the  temptations  and  trials  and  perplexities  of  that  trying  age. 
In  the  remaining  lessons  of  this  course,  we  shall  see  what  prob- 
lems they  had  to  face,  and  with  what  success  they  solved  them. 

Questions  and  Topics. 

1.  Resolved:  That  Constantine  was  a sincere  Christian. 
Choose  the  affirmative  or  the  negative  side  of  this  question,  and 
briefly  state  your  reasons. 


2.  What  statement  in  section  4 helps  to  explain  the  sudden 
increase  in  the  number  of  monks  and  nuns,  described  in  sec- 
tion 5? 


3.  What  is  the  good  element  in  the  life  of  a monk  or  a nun? 


4.  Mention  some  opportunities  for  self-denial  which  come 
to  us  to-day. 


40  Witnesses  for  Christ 

5.  What  sentence  in  section  6 applies  with  special  force  to 
our  lives  to-day? 


To  Sum  Up. 

1.  About  how  much  time  elapsed  between  the  beginning  of 
the  persecution  of  Diocletian,  and  the  Edict  of  Toleration, 
issued  by  Constantine? 


2.  Describe  the  dream  or  vision  which  led  to  Constantine’s 
conversion. 


3.  Mention  some  laws  enacted  by  Constantine  which  showed 
the  influence  of  Christianity. 


4.  Tell  how  gladiatorial  combats  were  abolished. 


5.  What  new  temptations  did  the  reign  of  Constantine  bring 
to  the  Christians? 


6.  What  mistaken  idea  of  Christianity  did  many  sincere 
Christians  have? 


7.  Mention  two  men  who  protested  against  worldliness  in 
the  church. 


Junior — Lesson  Nine 


41 


LESSON  9. 

A GREAT  EMPIRE  CONQUERED  BY  BARBARIANS. 

§ 1.  Keeping  Back  the  Floods. 

During  all  the  centuries  of  which  we  have  been  studying,  the 
shadow  of  a great  fear  hung  over  the  Roman  empire.  Beyond 
its  frontiers,  but  pressing  against  it  on  all  sides,  as  the  sea 
presses  against  the  dykes  in  Holland,  were  the  barbarians. 
Especially  dreaded  were  the  Germans  and  the  Goths.  These 
tribes  were  then  at  about  the  same  stage  of  civilization  as  the 
American  Indians  when  America  was  discovered.  They  lived 
in  rude  huts,  wore  garments  of  skins,  and  obtained  their  food 
chiefly  by  hunting  and  fishing.  They  were  never  conquered 
by  the  Romans,  although  they  were  driven  back  again  and 
again  to  their  homes  in  the  forests  of  the  north. 

§ 2.  Will  Christianity  Save  the  Empire? 

As  time  went  on,  however,  and  especially  in  the  century  fol- 
lowing Constantine  (from  300  to  400  a.d.),  it  seemed  more  and 
more  difficult  to  repulse  them.  Bands  of  Franks  and  Goths 
kept  breaking  past  the  military  forts  along  the  Rhine  and  the 
Danube,  to  plunder  the  rich  cities  beyond.  This  was  the  very 
century  when  Christianity  became  the  official  religion  of  the 
empire.  One  might  naturally  suppose  that  through  the  in- 
fluence of  Christianity,  the  nation  would  be  stronger,  and  better 
able  to  solve  its  problems.  The  actual  course  of  events,  however, 
is  well  illustrated  by  the  following  incident,  the  main  facts  of 
which  are  told  by  Salvian: 

§ 3.  A Poor  Immigrant,  and  His  Rich  Roman  Neighbor. 

About  425  A.D.,  there  lived  in  the  province  of  Gaul,  near  the 
city  of  Marseilles,  a certain  poor  farmer  whom  we  will  call 
Ursus.  His  father  had  come  down  from  Germany,  and  had 
adopted  the  customs  of  the  Romans.  The  farm  was  a small 
one;  nevertheless,  for  a long  time  Ursus  had  managed  to  sup- 
port himself.  As  the  years  passed,  however,  he  found  himself 
poorer  and  poorer.  The  governor  of  the  province  lived  in  a 
palace,  and  wasted  much  money  in  extravagant  luxuries,  while 
poor  farmers  like  Ursus  were  forced  to  pay  very  high  taxes. 


42 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


Finally,  one  year,  Ursus’  wife  fell  sick.  In  order  to  secure 
money  to  pay  for  medicine,  Ursus  went  to  a rich  neighbor  of  his, 
whom  we  will  call  Demas.  ^'Lend  me  a little  money, he  said, 
''and  you  will  save  my  wife.''  Now  Ursus  and  Demas  were 
both  members  of  a Christian  church  in  Marseilles.  As  Demas 
gave  liberally  to  the  church,  and  was  highly  spoken  of  as  a de- 
vout man,  Ursus  naturally  hoped  that  he  would  treat  him 
kindly,  as  a brother  Christian,  as  well  as  a neighbor.  "Cer- 
tainly" said  Demas,  " I will  lend  you  money . Only  sign  this 
agreement  and  I will  let  you  have  what  you  need."  When 
Ursus  read  the  agreement,  he  found  that  it  would  require  him 
to  pay  a very  high  rate  of  interest  every  month,  or  else  forfeit 
his  little  farm.  It  was  a hard  bargain;  nevertheless,  the  poor 
man  was  in  desperate  need  of  the  money.  He  loved  his  wife 
dearly,  and  his  heart  was  heavy.  So  at  last  he  signed  the  paper. 

§ 4.  Driven  from  Home 

Six  months  later,  the  day  came  which  Demas  had  been  waiting 
for.  Ursus  had  no  money  to  pay  the  interest,  and  he  received 
notice  to  move  out  of  his  home,  with  his  wife  and  babies,  and 
all  their  possessions.  Where  could  they  go?  What  could  they 
do?  In  his  distress,  Ursus  thought  of  the  pastor  of  his  church 
who  was  none  other  than  Salvian.  Going  to  the  pastor's  house, 
Ursus  begged  for  help.  "Will  you  not  go  to  Demas,"  he  said 
when  he  had  told  him  the  circumstances,  "and  intercede  for 
me?"  "Indeed  I will,"  replied  Salvian,  for  he  was  a just  man 
and  a true  Christian. 

§ 5.  A Champion  of  Justice  Repulsed. 

At  the  earliest  possible  moment,  therefore,  Salvian  went  to 
the  fine  house  where  Demas  lived.  "Why  do  you  devour  this 
poor  man's  possessions?"  he  demanded.  "Have  you  no  mercy? 
Do  you  not  know  that  he  has  nothing  else  wherewith  to  keep 
himself  and  his  little  ones  from  starving?  I pray  you  do  not 
rob  him  of  his  home."  In  spite  of  Salvian's  rebuke,  however, 
Demas  did  not  seem  in  the  least  ashamed  of  himself.  On  the 
contrary,  he  glared  at  the  pastor,  as  though  he  had  presumed 
to  ask  a favor.  "Do  you  mean  that  barbarian  Ursus?"  Demas 


Junior — Lesson  Nine 


43 


said.  ^^Well,  I cannot  grant  your  request.’’  ^^Why  not?\ 
asked  Salvian.  Those  barbarians  are  ruining  the  country/’ 
replied  Demas;  “and  I have  sworn  by  Christ,  to  take  away 
from  this  man  everything  which  he  possesses.  Pray,  is  it 
lawful  for  me  to  leave  undone,  what  I have  sworn  by  that  Holy 
Name  to  do?”  When  Salvian  heard  this  astonishing  piece  of 
hypocrisy  and  impudence,  he  was  speechless  with  anger.*  Turn- 
ing on  his  heel,  he  walked  away  without  a word.  “What  could 
I say,”  he  asks  in  his  story  of  the  incident,  “having  heard  the 
reason  of  so  religious  a piece  of  villainy?”  Sad  at  heart,  he 
could  only  go  to  Ursus  and  confess  that  he  had  failed.  The 
little  family  was  driven  out  from  their  home  to  beg  or  starve. 

§ 6.  A Harvest  of  Disaster. 

The  next  year  a horseman  came  riding  posthaste  into  Mar- 
seilles. “The  Goths  are  coming  ” he  cried.  “They  have  cros- 
sed the  Alps,  and  a large  band  of  them  is  marching  towards  this 
city.”  At  this  news,  the  governor  and  his  rich  nobles  bestirred 
themselves.  “We  must  gather  an  army,”  they  said;  and 
Demas  was  appointed  among  others  to  organize  a company  of 
soldiers.  Demas  thought  of  Ursus.  That  fellow  would  make  a 
good  soldier.  No  doubt  he  would  know  of  others.  But  where 
was  Ursus?  Where  did  he  live,  since  that  little  trouble  about 
the  farm?  Alas,  Ursus  was  nowhere  to  be  found.  Afterwards, 
it  was  discovered  that  he  had  gone  over  to  the  Goths.  In  fact,  a 
great  many  native  Romans  who,  like  Ursus,  had  been  unjustly 
treated,  had  followed  his  example.  When  the  Goths  came,  they 
burned  Marseilles  to  the  ground,  after  helping  themselves  to 
whatever  they  wanted,  in  the  houses  of  Demas  and  his  friends. 
A part  of  the  invaders  moved  on  to  burn  and  plunder  elsewhere. 
Others  settled  down  in  the  neighborhood,  and  made  it  their 
permanent  home.  For  centuries,  however,  the  city  lay  for  the 
most  part  in  ruins.  Of  all  its  buildings,  only  the  church  had 
been  spared.  The  people  lived  in  huts  and  hovels. 

§ 7.  The  Beginning  of  the  Dark  Ages. 

Such  events  as  these  were  taking  place  all  over  the  empire. 
The  old  Roman  civilization  was  being  destroyed.  Christianity 


44 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


had  failed  to  cure  it  of  corruption  and  injustice.  The  centuries 
from  this  period  until  about  1000  a.d.,  are  known  in  history  as 
the  Dark  Ages.  Imagine  New  York  and  London  and  Chicago 
lying  for  the  most  part  in  ruins;  the  grass  growing  on  the  rail- 
road tracks;  the  government  destroyed;  the  doors  of  the  school- 
houses  closed;  not  one  person  in  a thousand  ever  learning  to 
read  and  write;  no  protection  for  property,  and  no  man^s  life 
ever  safe;  thus  we  may,  perhaps,  understand  what  befell  the 
world  when  the  old  Roman  civilization  was  broken  up,  and  the 
Dark  Ages  set  in.  Had  there  been  more  Christian  leaders 
like  Salvian,  this  might  never  have  happened.  The  strength 
of  the  nation  would  not  have  been  weakened  by  injustice  to- 
ward the  poor.  But  alas  too  many  of  the  Christians  were 
like  Demas.  Others,  as  we  have  seen,  were  shut  away  in 
monasteries  trying  to  save  their  own  souls  instead  of  trying 
to  help  their  country.  Nevertheless,  loyalty  to  Christ  had  by 
no  means  died  out  altogether.  We  shall  see  in  a later  lesson 
that  although  the  Roman  empire  passed  away,  Christianity 
lived  on.  In  fact,  the  Christian  church  was  in  a measure  puri- 
fied by  the  disasters  and  trials  which  she  encountered  during 
these  Dark  Ages. 


Questions  and  Topics. 

1.  ^Hn  his  distress,  Ursus  thought  of  Salvian  the  pastor  of 
the  church.’’  What  had  Salvian  probably  done  on  previous 
occasions,  to  win  the  friendship  and  confidence  of  Ursus? 


2.  Those  barbarians  are  ruining  the  country.”  Of  the  char- 
acters in  this  story,  what  ones  were  really  doing  most  to  ruin 
the  Roman  empire? 


3.  Suppose  Salvian  had  succeeded  in  his  errand  to  Demas; 
suppose  Ursus  had  not  been  driven  from  his  home;  suppose 
justice  had  ruled  among  all  the  people  of  Marseilles:  what  differ- 
ent outcome  might  there  have  been  when  the  Goths  came? 


Junior — Lesson  Nine 


45 


4.  How  do  you  think  Demas  would  have  answered  the  ques- 
tions, ^^What  does  religion  consist  in?  What  must  a religious 
man  do?” 


5.  How  would  Salvian  have  answered  this  question? 


To  Sum  Up. 

1.  What  great  fear  overshadowed  the  Roman  empire  in  the 
latter  part  of  its  history? 


2.  Mention  some  of  the  barbarian  tribes  who  invaded  the 
empire. 


3.  What  kind  of  people  were  they?  How  were  they  accus- 
tomed to  live? 


4.  What  injustice  was  inflicted  on  the  poor  immigrant  Ursus, 
by  his  rich  neighbor  Demas? 


5.  Who  protested  against  this  injustice? 


6.  What  was  the  excuse  of  Demas  to  Salvian. 


7.  What  was  the  result  of  this  act  of  injustice,  and  others 
like  it,  when  the  savage  Goths  invaded  Marseilles? 


46  Witnesses  for  Christ 

8.  What  is  meant  by  the  Dark  Ages? 


9.  What  caused  the  decay  and  ruin  of  the  old  Roman  civiliza- 
tion? 


10.  Why  did  not  Christianity  prevent  this  decay? 


LESSON  10. 

A CHRISTIAN  MOTHER  AND  HER  GREAT  SON. 
MONICA  AND  AUGUSTINE. 

§ 1.  The  Christian  Home. 

One  of  the  greatest  blessings  which  Christ  gave  to  the  world 
was  a new  reverence  for  womanhood  and  a nobler  ideal  of  home 
life.  The  homes  of  the  early  Christians  were  happy  homes,  and 
in  the  new  atmosphere  of  Christianity  there  were  many  women 
who  distinguished  themselves  for  their  character  and  ability, 
and  who  rose  to  positions  of  influence.  Behold,^’  exclaimed  a 
heathen  writer,  ^^what  women  these  Christians  haveJ’^  These 
ideals  were  kept  alive  all  through  the  Middle  Ages,  and  are 
among  the  chief  glories  of  our  modern  civilization.  As  an  illu- 
stration of  what  Christianity  meant  for  womanhood,  and  for 
the  home,  let  us  turn  to  the  story  of  Monica  and  her  son  Augus- 
tine. 

§ 2.  A Boy  who  Loved  His  Mother. 

Augustine  was  born  in  the  village  of  Tagaste,  in  North  Africa, 
some  twenty  years  after  the  death  of  Constantine  (354  a.d.). 
His  father,  Patricius,  was  not  a Christian.  Nevertheless,  he 
sacrificed  his  personal  comforts  to  send  his  son  away  to  school, 


Junior — Lesson  Ten 


47 


and  thus  showed  himself  a good  father.  Moreover,  he  became  a 
Christian  not  long  before  his  death.  It  was  the  Christian 
mother,  Monica,  however,  who  wielded  the  greatest  influence 
in  the  boy’s  life.  Her  character  was  strong  and  beautiful. 
Augustine  tells  of  her  kindness  to  the  poor,  and  to  all  in  distress. 
He  tells  how  on  a certain  stormy  se.a  voyage,  she  was  the  sun- 
shine of  the  entire  ship’s  company,  both  passengers  and  crew. 
Her  whole  life  was  like  sunshine  in  dark  places. 

§ 3.  A Boy  in  Bad  Company. 

As  a boy,  Augustine  was  like  other  boys.  He  was  fond  of 
ball-playing,  in  fact  he  sometimes  played  hookey”  from  school, 
in  order  to  play  ball.  Yet  he  was  fond  of  books  too,  and  shed 
tears  over  the  sorrows  of  Dido,  the  heroine  of  Virgil’s  great 
story,  “The  ^Eneid.”  As  he  grew  older,  he  fell  in  with  a gang 
of  boys  of  his  own  age;  and  they  led  each  other  into  many  pranks 
which  would  better  have  been  left  undone.  One  night  for 
example,  they  robbed  a neighbor’s  pear  tree  which  was  loaded 
with  fine  pears.  Augustine  tells  us  that  he  could  have  had  even 
better  pears  at  home;  but  the  other  boys  kept  saying  “Let’s 
go  and  do  it,”  and  he  was  ashamed  not  to  join  them.  One 
thing  led  to  another,  of  course,  and  the  boys  gradually  fell  into 
worse  practices.  People  called  them  “wild.”  Monica  indeed, 
talked  to  her  son  about  the  temptations  which  boys  encounter, 
and  warned  him  against  these  wild  ways.  Augustine  loved 
his  mother.  Indeed  she  afterwards  testified  that  she  “had 
never  heard  a harsh  or  reproachful  word  come  out  of  his  mouth 
against  her.”  Nevertheless,  at  this  time,  he  thought  his  moth- 
er’s words  were  only  “womanish  counsels,”  and  so  kept  on  in 
his  wilful  headstrong  life. 

§ 4.  An  Ambitious  but  Selfish  Young  Man. 

When  he  was  about  nineteen  years  old,  his  father,  at  a 
financial  sacrifice,  as  we  have  said,  sent  him  to  the  city  of 
Carthage  to  study.  Here  at  first,  he  continued  in  much  the 
same  kind  of  life  as  at  home.  He  was  very  fond  of  fine  clothes 
and  gay  times.  Nowadays  we  should  have  called  him  “a 
sport.”  In  the  course  of  his  studies,  however,  he  came  upon  a 
great  book  by  the  Latin  philosopher  Cicero,  on  the  search  after 


48 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


truth.  He  was  deeply  impressed  and  resolved  to  spend  less 
time  in  frivolous  follies.  Only  one  thing  troubled  him.  ‘‘The 
name  of  Christ’’  was  not  in  this  book  of  Cicero.  With 
all  his  wilfulness,  he  had  not  forgotten  what  he  had  learned 
about  Jesus,  as  a child  on  his  mother’s  knee.  “The  name  of 
my  Saviour,  my  tender  heart  had  drunk  in  even  with  my  moth- 
er’s milk.  And  whatever  was  without  that  name,  however 
learned,  polished  or  truthful,  took  not  complete  hold  of  me.” 
From  this  time  on,  however,  he  began  to  study  with  more  pur- 
pose, and  shortly  afterwards  returned  to  Tagaste  to  be  a teacher 
of  rhetoric.  He  was  very  successful,  not  only  in  his  home 
town,  but  also  in  Carthage,  whither  he  went  some  years  later, 
and  finally  in  Rome  itself.  His  life  during  this  period  was  not  a 
happy  one,  however.  He  had  to  do  many  things,  as  a teacher 
of  rhetoric,  of  whjch  his  conscience  did  not  approve.  Pupils 
came  to  him  to  learn  tricks  of  speech  with  which  to  gain  unjust 
decisions  in  court.  As  a rhetorician  he  was  once  called  upon  to 
deliver  an  address  praising  the  emperor,  who  was  a bad  man. 
In  this  speech,  says  he,  “I  was  to  speak  many  a lie,  and  lying, 
was  to  be  applauded  by  those  who  knew  I lied.”  Such  tasks 
as  these  were  distasteful  to  him.  In  other  ways  also,  his  life 
was  still  evil.  When  he  went  to  Rome,  his  mother  begged  him 
to  take  her  with  him,  as  her  husband  Patricius  was  now  dead, 
and  she  was  lonely.  She  went  with  him,  indeed,  as  far  as  the 
sea;  but  by  a trick,  he  took  ship  alone,  leaving  her  weeping  on 
the  shore.  “I  had  lied  to  my  mother,”  he  writes,  “and  such  a 
mother.”  Later  on,  however,  she  came  to  live  with  him  in 
Italy. 


§5.  An  Inward  Struggle:  Shall  I Become  a Christian? 

When  he  was  about  thirty-three  years  old,  he  came  to  the 
supreme  crisis  and  turning-point  in  his  life.  A better  position 
as  a teacher  was  offered  him  in  the  city  of  Milan,  in  Northern 
Italy;  and  he  went  there  with  his  mother.  He  had  received 
letters  to  the  bishop  of  the  church  in  that  city,  whose  name  was 
Ambrose,  a good  man  and  a true  minister  of  Christ.  Augustine 
found  him  exceedingly  warm  hearted  and  friendly,  and  liked 
him  so  much  that  he  went  to  hear  him  preach.  After  that  he 


THE  CATHEDRAL,  MILAN 
In  this  city  Augustine  was  converted 


Junior — Lesson  Ten 


49 


went  to  church  every  Sunday  and  his  heart  was  deeply  touched. 
His  mother  Monica,  and  the  good  preacher  Ambrose,  became 
great  friends,  and  their  united  influence  over  the  young  man 
grew  stronger  and  stronger.  He  grew  more  and  more  dis- 
contented with  the  life  he  was  living,  and  conscience  told  him 
to  become  a Christian.  But  there  were  certain  pleasures  which 
he  was  then  enjoying  which  he  felt  to  be  sinful;  softly  they 
whispered  to  him,  ^^Canst  thou  part  with  us?’’  Could  he  give 
them  up?  Like  many  a young  man  at  such  a time,  he  kept 
postponing  his  decision.  ^^Presently,  lo  presently,”  he  would 
say  to  the  voice  of  God  in  his  heart.  Leave  me  a little 
while.”  ^‘But  my  ^presently,  presently’  had  no  present,  and 
my  4eave  me  a little  while’  went  on  for  a long  while.”  One 
day  when  his  distress  was  at  its  worst,  he  went  out  into  the  gar- 
den, back  of  his  house,  with  a friend  named  Alypius,  and  a 
little  later  he  left  Alypius  and  went  on  further  into  the  garden, 
and  flung  himself  down,  weeping,  under  a fig  tree.  ^^How 
long,  how  long?”  he  cried.  To-morrow,  and  to-morrow? 
Why  not  now?  Why  is  there  not  this  hour,  an  end  to  my  un- 
cleanness?” 

§ 6.  Augustine’s  Conversion. 

“I  was  saying  these  things,”  he  writes,  ^^and  weeping  in  the 
most  bitter  contrition  of  my  heart,  when  lo,  I heard  the  voice 
as  of  a boy  or  girl,  coming  from  a neighboring  house,  chanting 
and  oft  repeating,  ^Take  and  read,  take  and  read.’  Imme- 
diately I ceased  to  weep,  and  I began  to  ask  myself  most  ear- 
nestly whether  it  were  usual  for  children  in  any  kind  of  game 
to  sing  such  words,  nor  could  I remember  ever  to  have  heard 
the  like.  So  I rose  up,  interpreting  it  in  no  other  way  than  as  a 
command  to  me  from  heaven  to  open  the^book  [that  is,  the 
Bible]  and  to  read  the  first  chapter  I should  light  upon.  So  I 
returned  quickly  to  the  place  where  Alypius  was  sitting;  for 
there  had  I put  down  the  volume  of  the  Apostles.  I grasped, 
opened,  and  in  silence  read  that  paragraph  on  which  my  eyes 
first  fell, — ^Not  in  rioting  and  drunkenness,  not  in  chambering 
and  wantonness,  not  in  strife  and  envying;  but  put  ye  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  no  provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil 
the  lusts  thereof.’  No  further  would  I read,  nor  did  I need; 


e50 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


for  instantly,  as  the  sentence  ended,  by  a light  as  it  were  of 
security  infused  into  my  heart, — all  the  gloom  of  doubt  vanished 
SLWScy”  Thus  Augustine  became  a Christian  in  that  garden. 

Almost  his  first  act  after  his  conversion  was  to  go  into  the 
house  and  tell  his  mother.  Her  joy  we  can  well  imagine.  All 
these  years  she  had  been  praying  for  her  son,  with  many  tears. 
She  had  believed  in  Christ  that  before  she  departed  this  life 
she  would  see  him  a believer.’’  And  now  her  prayers  were 
answered,  and  her  faith  rewarded.  The  story  of  Augustine’s 
latter  life  may  be  found  in  other  books.  He  became  one  of  the 
greatest  leaders  in  Christian  history,  and  one  of  the  world’s 
greatest  thinkers.  It  should  never  be  forgotten,  however, 
that  there  could  have  been  no  Saint  Augustine,  as  he  is  known 
in  history,  had  it  not  been  for  the  loving,  faithful,  tender, 
influence  of  the  Christian  mother,  Monica. 

Questions  and  Topics. 

1.  If  Augustine  had  refused  to  join  the  other  boys  in  robbing 
the  pear  tree,  what  would  they  probably  have  said? 


2.  Where  did  he  get  the  idea  that  his  mother’s  words  were 
only  womanish  counsels”? 


3.  Suppose  Augustine’s  father  had  been  a Christian  as  well 
as  his  mother,  in  what  way  might  his  life  have  been  different? 


4.  Why  did  not  Augustine  wish  to  have  his  mother  live  with 
him  in  Rome? 


5.  Is  it  probable  that  Augustine  was  sometimes  influenced 
by  his  mother  when  he  did  not  realize  it?  When,  for  example? 


Junior — Lesson  Ten 


51 


6.  How  does  this  story  of  Augustine^s  early  life  show  the 
providential  care  of  God? 


To  Sum  Up. 

1.  Where  and  when  was  Augustine  born? 


2.  Tell  what  you  can  about  his  father. 


3.  What  kind  of  a woman  was  Monica,  his  mother? 


4.  By  what  forces  for  evil  was  Augustine  influenced  in  his 
boyhood  and  youth? 


5.  By  what  good  influences  was  he  helped? 


6.  Tell  the  story  of  his  conversion,  in  the  garden? 


52 


Witnesses  for  Christ 

LESSON  11. 


HOW  OUR  EUROPEAN  ANCESTORS  WERE 
CONVERTED  TO  CHRIST. 

When  the  barbarians  invaded  the  Roman  empire,  the  leaders 
of  the  Christian  churches  were  aroused  to  the  fact  that  they 
had  a duty  to  perform.  These  northern  tribes  were  worshipers 
of  Woden  and  Thor,  and  the  other  deities  of  Norse  mythology. 
To  them,  the  ideal  life  was  one  of  fighting  and  carousing;  and 
they  dreamed  of  a future  Valhalla,  after  death,  where  those  who 
fought  bravely  in  this  life  might  conquer  their  enemies,  and 
drink  strong  liquor,  forever  and  ever.  These  idolaters  had  to 
be  converted  to  Christ,  or  Christianity  would  perish.  The  pe- 
riod of  the  Dark  Ages,  therefore,  with  all  its  darkness,  was  a 
time  of  splendid  Christian  missionary  activity.  Unfortunately, 
few  records  of  this  missionary  work  were  kept.  Some  interest- 
ing facts,  however,  have  been  handed  down  to  us  in  the  old 
annals. 

§ 2.  The  Bible  Translated  into  Gothic. 

The  Goths,  who  came  down  into  Italy,  Southern  France  and 
Spain,  were  converted  to  Christianity  before  they  left  their 
former  home  in  Eastern  Europe.  This  was  accomplished  in 
part  through  the  efforts  of  a missionary  named  Wulfila,  or 
Ulfilas  (Little  Wolf).  He  invented  an  alphabet  for  the  Gothic 
language,  and  translated  the  Bible  into  it.  In  this  translation, 
he  omitted  the  stories  in  the  Book  of  Kings,  about  the  bloody 
wars  of  the  Hebrews,  lest  they  should  stir  up  the  warlike  pas- 
sions of  the  Goths.  Who  knows  how  much  more  cruel  and  mur- 
derous they  might  have  been,  as  they  forced  their  way  down 
into  their  new  homes  in  Southern  and  Western  Europe,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  teachings  of  this  brave  apostle  of  the  Prince 
of  Peace. 

§ 3.  Heathen  Angleland  Becoming  Christian  England. 

Britain  had  been  partially  Christianized  while  under  the  rule 
of  the  Romans.  Later,  however,  while  the  Goths  and  Franks 
were  invading  the  rest  of  the  empire,  the  Angles  and  Saxons 
came  swarming  into  the  British  Isles  and  brought  heathenism 


Junior — Lesson  Eleven 


53 


with  them.  These  newcomers  learned  of  Christianity,  as  the 
result  of  the  following  incident.  Shortly  before  the  year  590 
A.D.  a monk  named  Gregory  was  passing  a slave-market  in 
Rome,  where  he  saw  three  fair-haired,  handsome  boys.  ^^Who 
are  these,  and  where  did  they  come  from?’^  he  asked.  ^^They 
are  Angles,’^  was  the  answer.  Indeed,’^  said  Gregory,  “they 
look  like  angels.’^  Some  years  later,  when  he  became  a bishop 
of  the  Roman  church,  or  the  Pope,  he  sent  a band  of  mission- 
aries to  Angleland,  or  England.  The  leader  of  the  band  was  a 
certain  Augustine  (not  the  Augustine  of  whom  we  learned  in 
Lesson  10). 

§ 4.  St.  Patrick  in  Ireland. 

Christianity  was  carried  to  Ireland  by  Patricius  or  Patrick, 
whose  ancestors  had  been  Christians  since  the  days  when  the 
Romans  were  in  Britain.  As  a boy  he  was  taken  captive  from 
Scotland,  and  sold  as  a slave  in  Ireland.  For  six  years  he  fed 
cattle  for  his  master.  Amidst  the  hardships  of  his  life,  he  found 
comfort  in  the  teachings  of  Christ,  which  he  remembered  from 
his  childhood  in  a Christian  home.  Later  in  life,  having  es- 
caped from  slavery,  he  felt  himself  called  of  God  to  go  back  to 
Ireland,  and  tell  the  heathen  tribes  there  about  the  Gospel. 
He  was  very  successful  as  a missionary.  One  of  his  disciples, 
St.  Columba,  carried  the  Gospel  to  Scotland.  In  fact,  Ireland 
became  a center  of  missionary  work;  bands  of  zealous  Irish 
missionaries  went  to  many  parts  of  Europe. 

§ 5.  A French  Chilftain  who  Wanted  to  Avenge  the 
Death  of  Jesus. 

Christianity  became  the  tribal  religion  of  the  Franks  (or  the 
French)  through  the  conversion  of  their  king  Clovis.  He  had 
married  a Christian  princess  named  Chlotilda,  who  came  from 
a tribe  further  south,  and  through  her  had  learned  something 
of  the  Christian  religion.  Just  before  a battle  with  a hostile 
tribe,  he  prayed  to  Jesus  Christ  for  aid,  and  promised,  if  his 
prayers  were  answered,  to  be  baptized  as  a Christian.  It  hap- 
pened that  he  did  indeed,  win  the  victory,  and  on  the  following 
Christmas  Day  he  was  baptized  with  three  thousand  of  his  war- 
riors. It  is  plain  enough  that  such  a wholesale  conversion  as 


54 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


this  was  chiefly  a matter  of  outward  profession,  rather  than  of 
inward  purpose.  Yet  these  people  had  begun  to  learn  some- 
thing of  the  meaning  of  Christianity.  It  is  said  that  when  King 
Clovis  first  heard  the  story  of  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  he  was 
deeply  stirred.  Would  that  I had  been  there  with  my  Franks,” 
he  said,  ^Ho  avenge  Him.” 

§ 6.  Cutting  Down  the  Oak  Tree  of  Thor. 

The  chief  missionary  to  the  Germans  w^as  an  English  monk 
named  Winfred,  better  known  as  St.  Boniface,  who  established 
monasteries  in  many  parts  of  Germany.  In  the  course  of  his 
travels  he  found  a certain  great  oak  tree  which  was  sacred  to 
the  Thunder-God,  Thor.  Winfred  saw  an  opportunity  to 
strike  a death  blow  against  the  old  northern  heathenism.  Hav- 
ing gathered  a great  assembly  around  this  oak  tree,  he  appeared 
on  the  scene  with  an  axe,  and  with  his  own  hand  felled  it  to 
the  ground.  When  the  people  saw  that  Thor  was  unable  to 
defend  his  tree,  they  abandoned  the  old  worship,  and  accepted 
Christianity.  After  a long  life  of  active  missionary  work, 
Winfred  was  beheaded  by  the  Frisians,  a tribe  which  at  that 
time  was  hostile  to  Christianity. 

§ 7.  How  Winfred  Preached  to  the  Germaus. 

Some  of  Winfred^s  missionary  sermons  have  been  preserved, 
and  the  following  extracts  show  how  practical  they  were: 

These  are  the  commandments  which  you  shall  keep  and  fulfil: 
to  love  God  with  all  your  heart,  all  your  soul  and  all  your 
strength,  and  to  love  your  neighbor  as  yourselves.  Be  patient, 
have  mercy,  be  kind,  chaste,  pure.  Teach  your  sons  to  fear 
God,  teach  your  whole  family  to  do  so.  Make  peace  wherever 
you  go,  and  let  him  who  sits  in  court  give  a just  verdict,  and 
take  no  presents,  for  presents  make  even  a wise  man  blind. 
Keep  the  Sabbath  and  go  to  church  to  pray,  but  not  to  prattle. 
Give  alms  according  to  your  power,  for  a^ms  extinguish  sins, 
as  water  does  fire.  Show  hospitality  to  travelers,  visit  the  sick, 
take  care  of  widows  and  orphans,  pay  your  tithes  to  the  church 
and  do  to  nobody  what  you  would  not  have  done  to  yourself. 
Cling  to  the  Lord’s  Prayer  and  the  Creed,  and  teach  them  to 


WINFRED  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS  ON  A MISSION  TOUR 


Junior — Lesson  Eleven 


55 


your  children.  Keep  the  fast,  love  what  is  right,  stand  up 
against  the  devil,  and  partake  from  time  to  time  of  the  Lord’s 
Supper.  Such  are  the  works  which  God  commands  you  to  do 
and  fulfil.” 

§ 8.  Building  a New  Christian  Civilization. 

Beside  these  missionaries  named  above,  there  were  of  course 
hundreds  of  others,  who  carried  the  teachings  of  the  Gospel  to 
all  parts  of  Europe;  wherever  they  went  they  cut  down  trees 
and  built  monasteries.  Each  monastery  became  a kind  of 
Christian  school.  Here  the  people  in  the  neighborhood  were 
taught  to  till  the  soil  and  build  houses.  Here  the  weak  could 
fiee  for  refuge  from  the  murderer  and  the  oppressor.  Here. law 
and  order  prevailed,  and  men  gained  some  notion  of  the  bles- 
sings of  government.  Schools,  also,  were  established,  and  in 
each  generation,  at  least  a few  learned  to  read  and  write. 
Libraries  were  collected,  and  copies  of  the  Bible  and  other 
ancient  writings  were  preserved — a service  for  which  we  in  our 
day  can  never  be  too  grateful.  In  short,  although  the  Christian 
church  was  unable  to  preserve  the  old  Roman  civilization  from 
corruption,  it  was  itself  awakened  to  a new  life  by  the  shock  of 
the  barbarian  invasions;  and  the  religion  of  Jesus  became  one 
of  the  chief  forces  which  helped  to  build  a new  and  grander 
civilization. 

Questions  and  Topics. 

1.  Which  of  the  missionaries  mentioned  in  this  lesson  was  per- 
haps the  one  who  converted  your  own  ancestors  to  Christ? 


2.  How  did  these  missionaries  show  their  courage  and  faith? 


3.  What  other  reasons  besides  love  for  Christ  may  have  in- 
fluenced some  persons  among  these  northern  tribes  to  call 
themselves  Christians? 


56 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


4.  On  the  other  hand,  what  facts  show  that  the  missionaries 
exerted  a genuine  Christian  influence  upon  the  moral  character 
of  many? 


5.  How  did  Ulfilas  help  the  Roman  empire  as  well  as  the 
Goths? 


6.  How  do  foreign  missions  help  our  own  country,  to-day? 


To  Sum  Up. 

1.  Describe  the  religion  of  the  northern  barbarians  who 
conquered  Rome. 


2.  How  was  the  church  compelled  to  send  missionaries  to 
them? 


3.  What  missionaries  are  mentioned  in  this  lesson? 


4.  In  what  country  did  each  of  them  work? 


5.  Mention  one  or  two  of  the  precepts  of  Winfred,  as  quoted 
in  the  extract  from  his  missionary  sermons. 

6.  What  is  meant  by  the  sentence,  ^^Each  monastery  became 
a kind  of  Christian  school  ’7 


Junior — Lesson  Twelve 


57 


LESSON  12. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CONQUEST  OF  EUROPE. 
Review. 

Christianity  began  as  the  religion  of  a little  band  of  disciples 
of  Jesus,  in  an  upper  room  in  Jerusalem.  As  Jews,  they  be- 
longed to  a despised  race.  They  were  despised  and  hated  even 
by  the  leaders  of  their  own  race.  The  Master  whom  they  wor- 
shiped had  been  a carpenter,  and  carpenters  were  looked  down 
upon,  in  those  days,  as  peasants.  Worse  still,SHe  had  been 
crucified  between  two  thieves, — executed  as  a criminal. 

To-day,  Christianity  is  the  leading  religion  of  the  leading 
nations  of  the  world.  In  every  city,  in  every  civilized  land, 
Christ  is  worshiped  in  great  and  beautiful  churches.  Although 
many  un-Christian  acts  are  performed  every  day,  nevertheless, 
outwardly  at  least,  the  name  of  Christ  is  everywhere  revered; 
and  there  are  multitudes  who  sincerely  try  to  be  His  disciples. 

How  has  this  come  about?  We  have  answered  this  question 
in  the  lessons  of  this  course.  We  have  seen  that  this  great 
victory  has  been  won  at  the  cost  of  blood  and  torture  and  death, 
on  the  part  of  countless  humble  Christian  men  and  women. 
Yet  we  should  not  close  our  study  with  a sense  of  pity  for  those 
early  Christians.  They  were  perhaps  the  happiest  people  who 
have  ever  lived.  They  were  so  completely  enraptured  by  the 
glory  of  the  cause  which  they  served,  that  they  seem  scarcely 
to  have  felt  the  pain  and  suffering  which  their  persecutors 
sought  to  inflict.  It  was  this  spirit  of  enthusiasm  which  con- 
quered the  Roman  empire,  and  the  continent  of  Europe,  for 
the  Christian  religion.  This  same  spirit,  in  our  hearts,  will 
help  each  one  of  us  to  be  a conquering  influence  for  the  Christian 
life.  Surely  if  the  Christians  could  sing  for  joy,  amidst  the  tor- 
tures of  the  arena,  that  same  power  of  Christ  can  make  us  tri- 
umphant over  the  petty  trials  and  temptations  which  come  to 
us  day  by  day. 

^^When  brambles  vex  me  ^ore,  and  anguish  me. 

Then  I remember  those  pale  martyr  feet. 

That  trod  on  burning  shares,  and  drank  the  heat, 

As  it  had  been  God’s  dew,  with  ecstasy.” 


58 


Witnesses  for  Christ 


Questions  and  Topics. 

1.  Into  what  three  periods  may  we  divide  the  history  which 
we  have  been  studying  in  this  course? 


2.  In  which  of  these  periods  were  the  Christians  most  Christ- 
like?  Explain  why?. 


3.  How  do  you  explain  the  fact  that  in  about  two  and  a half 
centuries,  a despised  religion  of  a crucified  carpenter  became  the 
leading  religion  of  the  Roman  empire? 


4.  How  do  you  explain  the  fact  that  when  the  barbarians 
conquered  Rome,  they  themselves  and  all  the  northern  lands 
from  which  they  came,  were  conquered  by  Christianity? 


5.  From  Jerusalem  to  Damascus;  from  Damascus  to  Antioch; 
from  Antioch,  all  over  the  Roman  empire;  from  the  Roman 
empire  all  over  Europe;  from  Europe  to  America — how  long 
and  how  far  will  this  triumphal  march  of  Christianity  continue? 


Final  ^^Sum  Up.’^ 

1.  Mention  three  reasons  why  the  Christians  were  persecuted 
in  the  Roman  empire? 


2.  When  did  the  Roman  government  first  attack  Christianity? 


Junior — Lesson  Twelve 


69 


3.  What  was  Tragan’s  rule  regarding  the  Christians? 


4.  Under  what  emperor  were  the  Christians  persecuted  most 
severely? 


5.  How  did  the  early  Christians  show  the  spirit  of  brotherly 
love? 


6.  Where  did  they  hold  their  meetings  for  worship? 


7.  What  did  they  do  at  these  meetings? 


8.  How  did  they  win  converts  to  Christ? 


9.  To  whom  did  they  offer  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel? 
Was  the  Gospel  merely  for  those  who  were  already  righteous? 


10.  What  story  is  told  of  a robber  chieftain  near  the  city  of 
Smyrna? 


11.  By  what  temptations  were  the  Christians  constantly 
surrounded? 


60  Witnesses  for  Christ 

12.  How  and  when  and  in  what  city  was  Perpetua  put  to 
death? 


13.  By  what  act  could  she  have  gained  her  freedom?  ' 


14.  Tell  what  you  can  about  the  death  of  Polycarp?  of 
Justin? 


15.  With  what  arguments  did  Justin,  in  his  writings,  defend 
his  fellow  Christians,  and  the  Christian  religion? 


16.  Tell  the  story  of  the  conversion  of  Constantine?  Was  it 
sincere? 


17.  When  did  this  occur? 


18.  Why  was  Rome  so  easily  conquered  by  the  barbarians? 


19.  Why  did  not  the  Christian  religion  preserve  the  old 
Roman  civilization  from  destruction? 


20.  What  kind  of  a man  was  Salvian? 


J unior — Lesson  Twelve 


61 


21.  Tell  the  story  of  Salvian  and  the  poor  farmer  whom  we 
called  Ursus. 


22.  Where  and  when  was  Augustine  born? 


23.  What  person  wielded  the  strongest  influence  over  his 
life? 


24.  Tell  what  you  know  regarding  his  boyhood  and  early 
education. 


25.  What  profession  did  he  choose? 


26.  Mention  three  other  influences,  beside  Monica^s,  that 
led  to  his  conversion. 


27.  Tell  the  story  of  his  experience  in  the  garden  in  Milan. 


28.  Mention  the  names  of  early  missionaries  to  the  following 
countries:  England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  Germany? 


29.  What  is  a monastery?  How  did  missionary  monasteries 
build  up  European  civilization? 


30.  What  is  the  error  in  the  monastic  idea  of  religion? 


62  Witnesses  for  Christ 

APPENDIX 

List  of  Chukch  Fathers  Mentioned  in  these  Lessons. 

Ignatius  was  a bishop  of  the  church  in  Antioch.  He  was 
taken  to  Rome  and  put  to  death  as  a Christian  about  117  a.d. 

Polycarp  was  a bishop  in  the  church  at  Smyrna,  when  Ignatius 
was  put  to  death.  He  himself  was  put  to  death  as  a Christian, 
about  155  A.D. 

Justin  Martyr  was  a younger  contemporary  of  Polycarp. 
He  lived  in  Ephesus  and  Rome.  He  was  beheaded  about  166 

A.D. 

Tertullian  was  a Roman  lawyer,  in  the  city  of  Carthage  in 
North  Africa.  He  became  a Christian  about  190  a.d.,  when  he 
was  about  thirty  or  forty  years  old.  He  was  not  called  upon  to 
die  for  his  religion,  but  died  in  old  age,  about  220  a.d. 

Clement  of  Alexandria  was  the  president  of  a Christian 
school  in  that  city,  where  catechumens,  that  is,  persons  who 
wanted  to  learn  about  Christianity,  were  instructed  in  its  doc- 
trines. He  lived  about  the  same  time  as  Tertullian. 

Origen  was  a pupil  of  Clement  in  his  school  at  Alexandria,  and 
later  took  Clement’s  place  as  president  of  the  school.  He  was 
a man  of  remarkable  learning  and  genius.  About  250  a.d.,  he 
was  cruelly  tortured  by  the  Roman  authorities  and  condemned 
to  be  burned  as  a Christian.  Although  this  sentence  was  not 
carried  out,  he  died  shortly  afterwards,  as  the  result  of  his 
injuries. 

Augustine  was  born  in  354  a.d.,  and  died  in  430  a.d.  Like 
Tertullian  he  spent  most  of  his  life  in  North  Africa,  not  far 
from  Carthage. 

Salvian  was  born  in  Gaul  about  400  a.d.  He  became  a priest 
in  the  city  of  Marseilles. 


Christian  Life  and  Conduct 


Christian  Life  and  Conduct  is  an  analysis  of  the  particular  Biblical 
rules  and  principles  which  all  Christians  should  undertake  to  follow. 
Though  our  religion  is  not  a set  of  rules,  nevertheless  the  Christian 
purpose  includes  a determination  to  do  certain  things  and  to  abstain  from 
others. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  there  is  a tendency  in  boys  and  girls  to  break 
away  from  restraint  and  to  resent  authority.  They  are  passing  rapidly 
from  the  period  when  they  follow  rules  of  conduct  merely  because  they 
have  been  so  trained,  to  the  period  when  they  should  follow  them  of 
their  own  desire.  They  are  unwilling  to  be  children  any  longer.  They 
desire  the  freedom  of  men  and  women,  while  as  yet  they  do  not  under- 
stand the  adult  point  of  view.  The  aim  of  Christian  Life  and 
Conduct  is  to  assist  the  pupil  to  make  the  transition  from  childish  conduct 
to  that  of  young  men  and  women  who  desire  to  live  as  Christians. 

partial  list  of  topics 

Part  I.  LIVING  ACCORDING  TO  THE  STANDARDS  OF  LAW 

Here  the  pupil  surveys  in  a new  way  the  great  laws  of  the  Scriptures. 
Frequent  reference  is  made  to  our  common  law  which  is  largely  founded 
upon 'the* Bible. 

2.  The  Si^ht  to  Property  5.  The  Rl^bt  to  Truth 

3.  The  Ri{iht  to  Fair  Dealing  7.  The  Rights  of  Parents 

4.  The  Ri^ht  to  Rest  9.  The  Rights  of  the  Unprotected 

Part  II.  LIVING  ACCORDING  TO  THE  STANDARDS  OF  THE 
PROPHETS  AND  SAGES 

Here  emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  duty  of  doing  good  to  others  instead  of 
merely  refraining  from  injuring  them.  The  lesson  material  is  from  the 
Old  Testament. 

13.  Nc^lidence  and  its  Results  16.  The  Power  of  the  Tondae 

14.  The  Cultivation  of  Habits  20.  The  Brotherhood  of  Man 

15.  The  Importance  of  Self-control  22.  False  and  True  Worship 

Part  HI.  LIVING  ACCORDING  TO  THE  STANDARDS  OF  JESUS 

The  course  is  brought  to  a culmination  by  the  application  of  the 
standards  of  Jesus  to  everyday  life.  The  lesson  material  is  from  the  New 
Testament. 

25.  The  Christian  and  his  Leader  31.  The  Ambition  of  a Christian 

27.  The  Christian  and  his  Friends  34.  The  Life  of  Faith 

30.  The  Christian  and  his  Thouilhts  35.  The  Christian  and  his  Heavenly 

Father 

Complete  in  thirty-six  lessons 

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Heroes  of  the  Faith 

By  Herbert  Wright  Gates 


A Course  of  Forty-eight  Lessons  for  Intermediate  Pupils. 


Abraham 

David  Livingstone. 
Moses. 

John  Howard. 
Florence  Nightingale. 
Guido  F.  Verbeck. 
Elijah. 

Amos. 

Jeremiah. 

John  Wyclif. 

Girolamo  Savonarola. 
Martin  Luther 
Gaspard  de  Coligny. 
John  Knox. 

Paul. 

John  Eliot. 

William  Carey. 
Adoniram  Judson. 
Marcus  Whitman. 
William  Taylor. 

John  G.  Paton, 
Jonathan. 

Esther. 

Judas  Maccab.®us. 
Chinese  Gordon. 
William  Penn. 

George  T.  Angell. 
Frances  E.  Willard. 
Everyday  Heroes. 


Experience  has  shown  that  at  about  I 
the  age  of  thirteen  a radical  change! 
in  the  'subject  studied  is  of  great  ad-j 
vantage  in  securing  a sustained  in-| 
terest.  Boys  and  girls  will  return  to| 
the  study  of  the  Bible  with  fresh  in-i 
terest  if  they  pause  here  to  study  the  I 
working  of  Biblical  principles  in  other  ! 
lives  than  those  included  in  the  Bib-| 
lical  records. 

The  HEROES  OF  THE  FAITH? 
has  been  constructed  in  view  of  this[ 
need.  Its  purpose  is,  by  brief  sketchesl 
of  heroic  and  grandly  religious  char-j 
acters,  to  kindle  in  the  pupil  the) 
spirit  by  which  these  men  and  women] 
were  animated,  and  to  encourage  its^ 
expression  in  similar  virtues  and  deeds. J 
A constant  effort  is  made  in  these  5 
studies  to  bring  the  heroic  down  to 
everyday  life,  rather  than  to  exalt  it 
beyond  the  reach  of  common  men. 
The  lessons  aim  to  impress  the  possi-| 
bility  and  need  of  heroism  in  any 
kind  of  situation— in  the  home  or 
school,  on  the  street  or  the  playground.] 

Send  postal  to-day  for  free  sample^ 
lessons  and  examine  yourself 
these  interesting  studies 


CHARLES  SCRIBNER’S  SONS! 
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